In My Veins
by NikonFriend
Summary: Post-Season 3 finale: A tragedy unfolds at Anchor Beach Charter School, and the Adams-Foster family is forced to cope with the repercussions of recent and past events. Lives will be torn apart and hearts will be broken, but how much more can the family take? (Not a Brallie story)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody. This story picks up right where the season 3 finale left off, so if you haven't gotten that far, I wouldn't recommend reading this because there will be some _major_ spoilers. I've already written the next two chapters for this story, too, so I'll be uploading those sometime soon. And thanks so much to Junebugsm for letting me know that this chapter was originally posted in the wrong format because I probably never would have even noticed.**

 **Dislcaimer: I don't own the Fosters, or anything relating to it. All that I own in this story is the general plot.**

 **Chapter One**

* * *

"No," Callie spoke, nauseous from the whirlwind of emotions that she was feeling. "We can't because it's true."

She knew that there was no taking back what she'd just said to her mothers. She knew that there was no taking back what had happened between her and Brandon that night in Idyllwild. She knew that there was no taking back the lying, and the betrayal, and the shame. She knew that she couldn't take back anything that she'd done, and as much as she didn't want to regret that night with Brandon, she couldn't help but hate herself for it all in that one moment.

Stef and Lena exchanged looks, and Callie didn't know what to say when she saw the look on Stef's face. There was anger, and hurt, and disappointment. There was resentment, even, and Callie felt like shit. After all that family had done for her and Jude -after all that she'd put them through- this was what she had to give them in return. The look in Stef's eyes said it all. Callie was a disgrace and she knew it.

"What do you mean 'it's true?'" Stef replied after a few short seconds, her voice stern and detached.

Her jaw was set and she just looked right at Callie, not even a shred of sympathy in her eyes. There wasn't room for understanding in this situation, at least not at the moment. Why the Hell should Callie even deserve that anyway. She had slept with Brandon. She'd gone behind her mothers' backs, her family's backs, and she'd lied in court, and she'd deceived the people who had only ever shown her love and kindness and forgiveness. This, though... this was unforgivable and Callie knew it.

"Stef, I-" Callie squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head down and shaking it, wishing the tears away. "I'm sorry," she whispered, clenching her jaw afterwards. She let out a shaky breath. There was no taking any of this back.

"Do you mean to tell me that- that you and Brandon-" Stef couldn't even get the words out. She looked up to the ceiling and bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head lightly as if she was trying to understand even the idea of Callie and Brandon sleeping with each other. After a brief moment, she looked back at Callie, unnervingly calm given the situation. "You slept with Brandon?" She spoke coldly, her question more of a statement. "You had sex with _Brandon_ _?"_

The coldness in her tone was enough to give Callie goosebumps. She couldn't meet her mom's eyes. She just kept her gaze fixed on the floor and her body went rigid. She knew that she could trust the Adams-Foster family, hell, she was legally a part of the family now, but she would understand if they didn't want her to be an Adams-Foster anymore. Brothers and sisters, they didn't sleep together -that was wrong on so many levels- and Callie had crossed that border. Sure, Brandon was a part of it all, but Callie was the foster kid. She was the one who had been with them for the shortest amount of time. She was the one whom Lena and Stef had welcomed into their home, and for her to do _this?_ God, it was inexcusable. Unacceptable. It was horrible.

"I am so sorry," Callie choked out, squeezing her eyes shut once more. She knew that an apology wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't make anything okay. It wouldn't really do, or mean, anything. It was the only thing she could think to offer in that moment, though.

"How could you-" Stef started, finally snapping. She was pissed, and she had every right to be. She took a step toward Callie, fire in her eyes, but was then pulled back.

"Stef," Lena interjected, grabbing Stef's arm in an attempt to hold her back. "Let's just take a minute here to think about all of this before we say or do anything, okay?"

Until Stef had started toward Callie, Lena hadn't said a word, trying to wrap her mind around the situation as much as she possibly could. Now, though, she had to do something. This was a fragile, explosive situation, and everyone was vulnerable in that moment. Even though she was filled with anger at the fact that Callie and Brandon had slept together, she had to keep a level head about it, for her wife's sake and for Callie's too.

"To _think_ about all of this?" Stef scoffed, rolling her eyes and she shot Lena an incredulous look. "What the hell is there to think about, Lena? The situation is pretty damn clear."

Lena gave her wife a stern gaze. "Stef, let's just try to understand how it happened, alright?" She whispered so that only her wife could hear her. "I'm sure that there is a _lot_ to this situation that we don't know about."

Stef let out a quiet sigh, biting her lip. She was pissed, but she knew that Lena was right, and she knew that whatever happened wasn't entirely her daughter's fault. She needed to calm down and start thinking straight.

She looked back at Callie, whose eyes were still fixed to the floor. "When did this happen, Callie?" She asked, her voice softer.

"It was at Idyllwild," Callie breathed out, her voice empty. "Before, uh, before the adoption. Brandon and I, we didn't think I was going to get adopted, and-"

"Why would you even think that?" Lena interrupted, confusion written all over her face.

Callie bit her lip, still not taking her eyes off of the floor. "Carmen knew about Brandon and me," she breathed out. "She threatened to tell, if I, uh, tried to turn her in for what went on with her and Rita." Callie paused, looking up to her moms with wet eyes. "I figured she'd go through with it and I'd just end up in another foster home."

"Callie," Stef sighed, rubbing her temple. She shook her head lightly, not saying anything else although it looked like she was still trying to figure out _what_ to say.

Callie's eyes met Stef's. They were dull, like Callie had no hope or fight left in her whatsoever. "We thought the adoption was off the table," Callie answered, her voice hoarse. "You weren't even my foster parents anymore and we were sure that I didn't even have any chance left at getting adopted and we just, we didn't know. We didn't mean for it to happen... it just, it did..."

Stef sighed once more, looking at Callie with eyes filled with disappointment, frustration, confusion, and also a little bit of what looked like sympathy, like she could almost understand why it had happened.

"You know that's not an excuse though, Callie, right?" She asked. "That doesn't just make all of that _okay."_

 _"No,"_ Callie responded, her eyes widening slightly as she shook her head. "No, I know it's not okay. I know that, believe me. And I know there's no excuse for it, I know that I can't- that apologizing won't just suddenly make all of this better. I know I screwed up, I really really do, and I know you're probably pissed with me right now, but just please know that I don't think it's okay. At all."

Lena looked between the two. Stef was leaning against Lena's desk, her eyes now on the floor. Callie looked hopeless and broken at the same time. She seemed ashamed, and as upset as Lena was with what had gone on, she still felt for the girl. There was no excusing what she and Brandon had done, but she hated seeing Callie so hurt. The girl was clearly pissed at herself -possibly more than the moms were- and from what Lena could tell, she was feeling guilty about it too.

"Look, um, I get it if you both hate me right now," Callie suddenly spoke up after a minute or two of silence, "and I know I should have talked to you about this sooner. Before the adoption, even. I just, I didn't want it to blow up. I didn't want to screw things up for the family, and maybe that's selfish on my own part, but I'm sorry."

Stef looked to Callie, shaking her head lightly. "We don't hate you, Love," she breathed. "But we also can't just let this go away."

Lena nodded, a more serious look on her face. "Mom and I need to have a _serious_ conversation with Brandon about this, and then we're all gonna have to talk about it together, and there are going to be some _major_ consequences for this, but we still love you, Callie. Nothing's gonna change that."

Callie opened her mouth and there was a tremendous amount of sadness in her eyes, but she didn't say or do anything. Maybe it was because she couldn't understand how calm her mothers were in that moment, or maybe it was because of her own guilt that she was feeling, but it was too much for her. She's screwed up so much, and now here it was, probably about to blow up in her face. Brandon would probably be pissed at her for telling Moms, and Jude would probably be disappointed and enraged with it all. And that was all on top of everything that was going on with Fost and Found. How the hell was she even supposed to handle all of that?

"I'm sorry," Callie finally managed to breathe out a cold ten seconds later.

Stef sighed once more, nodding slowly. "Callie, we can talk about this later," she spoked quietly. "Why don't you get to class."

Lena nodded in agreement. "We'll talk about this once we get home, and we'll discuss the consequences then, too."

Callie could feel her heart fall to her stomach as she stood up and numbly walked toward the door. Stef felt a pang of sympathy when she saw how hurt Callie looked, and she opened her mouth, like she was going to say something, but nothing came out. Callie felt like her legs would give out from under her, and her head was pounding. She felt sick, and hopeless, and lost.

"Go to class," Lena breathed quietly as Callie silently walked out the door. She felt bad for her daughter, seeing how upset she was, but she couldn't let that get in the way of it all.

Callie just kept her jaw shut tightly, knowing that if she said anything else, she'd end up bawling her eyes out. She walked down the school hallway, deaf to the chatter of people around her and numb to the feeling of her own feet hitting the floor. This was one of the worst days of her life already, and she could practically see the world falling apart around her. How could anything even be worse?


	2. Chapter 2

**_Sorry about how short these first few chapters are. They'll get longer, I promise. Once the story starts getting a little more intense/interesting, there'll be longer chapters._**

* * *

 _Fuck,_ Callie thought, swallowing the knot in her throat. God she'd screwed up. She'd screwed up everything, not just for herself, but for Jude and for Brandon and for her whole family. Sure, she knew that the Adams-Foster family would never get rid of Jude, especially for something that he had no control over, and she knew that they probably wouldn't get rid of her, but God, she'd screwed up. Stef probably hated her. Brandon was her biological son, after all. Sure, Callie was her daughter, but she still wasn't blood. She hadn't been with the family near as long as anyone else there. Hell, considering her time in Girls United, Jude had even been there longer than her. Callie had slept with Stef's biological son and even if Stef wouldn't admit it, Callie knew that a part of her mom was definitely upset for that very reason.

What the hell was going to happen? Brandon would probably end up hating her, too. Her mothers would probably never trust her again. The twins probably would be pissed at both Callie and Brandon too. And Jude... God, Jude would hate her. After everything they'd been through together -after Liam, and all of the shit holes for foster homes that they'd been at- how could she do this? _Especially_ after Liam, how could she do this? She didn't mean for everything to happen like this. She didn't mean for it all to blow up like this.

She didn't even know where she was going. She was just walking through the hallways, her mind racing and her feet carrying her down random corridors. The hallways were all empty by now. Classes had begun at least ten minutes ago. She didn't even care that she was missing her literature class, though. She had bigger things to worry about than _The Odyssey._ What the hell was she going to do?

Callie's mind snapped back to her when she suddenly collided with someone. She hadn't even seen the guy, and they were literally the only two people in the hallway. He must've been pretty lost in his own mind too, though, if he hadn't avoided her.

"Sorry," Callie muttered, taking a step back and looking up to see Nick, who looked like a mess.

He just swallowed nervously, a flustered look in his eyes. He stepped back as well, then walked around Callie down the hallway, muttering an "it's fine," before walking at a quick pace, his fists clenched.

Under any other circumstances, Callie probably would've called out to her sister's boyfriend and brother's best friend. He looked pretty messed up. She was a mess, though, and as much as she cared about her siblings and their friends and boyfriends, Nick really wasn't a priority in that moment. He was probably just hungover, or maybe he'd gotten into a fight. Callie really didn't have the time to worry about him. He'd be fine.

Then it hit her.

She had to text Brandon. She had to tell him that their moms knew. He deserved the warning. He deserved her honesty.

Callie then turned, realizing that she was near one of the bathrooms. She walked in, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her hands were shaking while she started to type out the message to her brother.

 _Moms_ _know about Idyllwild._

She took in a deep breath after pressing the send button, then looked in the mirror, shaking her head at her reflection. She looked like a hot mess. Her mascara had started running, and she looked flat out exhausted. Her cheeks were red, and her eyes were puffy.

"Dammit," Callie spat out, more pissed off with herself than her appearance. She turned and stepped into one of the stalls, getting a wad of toilet paper and wiping her face with it in an attempt to at least wipe away some of the stray mascara and tears.

Callie's phone vibrated in her pocket and she felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster, knowing that it was Brandon who had texted her. What was he going to say? He was going to be pissed, but _what would he say?_

Callie pulled out her phone once more and read the message that popped up on the screen.

 _Brandon:_ _What do they know? What did u tell them Callie?_

That was when her stomach really turned. She dropped her phone, not even having enough time to put it back in her pocket, and spun around, running quickly back into the stall. She fell to her knees before the toilet bowl, then emptied the contents of her stomach. Her head was spinning, and even after she had nothing left to throw up, she still felt downright sick. She dry-heaved for a few minutes, her nerves betraying her. After a while, she finally trusted her body enough and she stood up, taking a deep breath. She needed to keep herself together.

She left the stall and went to the sink. After washing her hands and splashing some water onto her face, she turned to pick her phone up off of the ground where she'd dropped it. She cursed herself inwardly when she saw the cracked screen. She silently hoped that the phone would still work, but when she hit the power button, nothing happened.

"Great," she muttered, tensing up a little bit. Apparently things could get worse. Now Brandon would pretty much be left in the dark about the situation, and Callie knew that Stef and Lena definitely wouldn't be getting her a new phone any time soon.

Another twenty minutes passed, then the bell signifying the end of first period rang and Callie could hear everyone moving along through the hallway to their next class. Callie was standing in one of the stalls, the door closed, just trying to keep herself together. She wasn't crying anymore, and she hadn't thrown up again. She could breathe. She'd gotten her shit together for the most part. She was still a mess, though. She had no clue what to do.

When the bell rang once more, as a note that second period had begun, Callie stepped out of the stall and left the bathroom. Maybe she could get to Brandon quickly enough. She didn't doubt that Stef and Lena would be calling him in, but maybe she'd get to him first. Stef and Lena were probably still talking about what they'd do with the situation. How the kids would be punished. What they'd have to tell them. Maybe this meant that she had more time. If the mothers were still deciding what they'd do, then maybe they hadn't done _anything_ yet. Brandon had some history class during second period on the other side of the school. It'd only take her a couple minutes to get to the class, and she could probably ask the teacher if she could pull him out of class for a few minutes. If Callie couldn't text Brandon what had happened, then she at least owed it to him to tell him in person. She didn't want Stef and Lena to bombard him. She didn't want him to think that she'd just suddenly told their moms without any warning, or that she'd done so without any real reason.

"Okay," she breathed to herself, inhaling deeply after a few seconds. "Okay I can do this."

She started down the hallway, trying not to worry too much. She needed to stay as calm as possible. If she started freaking out, then she wouldn't be able to stop. Then Brandon would probably start freaking out, or he'd end up even more pissed off at her. She needed to be smart about it all. She needed to be honest, too. She wasn't going to lie to Stef and Lena. They didn't deserve any dishonesty. She needed to tell Brandon, though. It was only fair to tell him.

She was nearly halfway to his class when she heard a loud, sudden, bone-chilling _bang_ from somewhere in the school. The sound echoed off the walls and Callie froze right where she stood. Her heartrate sped up and she felt like her lungs shrunk because it was suddenly hard to breathe. Her head started spinning for an entirely different reason than her situation with Brandon and her family.

Callie had grown up around violence -around shouting and hitting and weapons- and as much as she didn't want to believe it, she knew exactly what she'd just heard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I'm not 100% sure about this chapter, but hey, at least it's longer than the others have been so far. I know it might've dragged on a bit, but hopefully you guys don't mind too much. If you do have any comments, however, I'd greatly appreciate hearing them. Critiques, questions, and thoughts are always welcome :)**

 **Anyway, here goes nothing:**

* * *

"Stef," Lena sighed, biting her lip. "I know that you're mad -I'm furious- but we need to figure out how to even talk to them about this."

Stef shook her head, letting out a heavy breath as she sat down on the couch. "I just can't understand it, Lena," she replied, running a hand down her face. "I can't-" her voice cracked and she looked up, meeting her wife's eyes. "Jesus how did this even happen, Lena?"

Lena opened her mouth but nothing came out. She couldn't understand it either, and she was hurt, too. How could Brandon and Callie even do something like that? How could they go behind their family's backs, sleep with each other despite all of the rules -the laws- that they were breaking? How could they lie to them like that, and then act like nothing had ever happened?

"I have no idea," she finally replied, shaking her head lightly. "We need to talk to them about this, though. _Both of them._ Callie isn't the only one who messed up here, Stef."

Stef bit her bottom lip, then nodded, turning her eyes to the floor. "I know," she breathed out. "I know." A few minutes or so of silence passed, the two mother's trying to figure out what they were going to do, then Stef finally spoke. "We need to talk to Brandon," she said solemnly, looking up at her wife.

Lena nodded. "First period will be over soon," she replied. "I'll call him in once second period begins. That way we'll both have time to just figure out what we're going to say to him."

For the most part, the two sat in silence until the bell rang. Stef stood up and started pacing back and forth in the room while Lena picked up her office phone and began to call Brandon's history teacher. She was still pissed. Sure, she'd been able to calm down a little bit after Callie left, but she was still enraged. Disappointed. Shocked. Devastated, even.

"Alright," Lena finally sighed, setting the phone down. "Brandon's history teacher is gonna send him in before class starts. Are you sure you're ready to talk to him right now?"

Stef scoffed, biting the inside of her cheek. "I'm never going to be 'ready' to talk to him about this," she muttered, swallowing the knot in her throat. "We have to talk to him, though."

Lena just nodded. She wasn't really ready either.

"I just can't believe they lied to us," Stef whispered, closing her eyes and shaking her head lightly. "Did they not think it was safe to talk to us? Did Callie _really_ think that we'd just hate her, or suddenly decide not to adopt her?"

Lena let out a quiet sigh. "To be fair, Stef, we were pretty quick about sending her to Girl's United after we found out she and Brandon were together in the first place."

"Yeah," Stef argued, "but Lena you and I both know that that wasn't just about Brandon. That was about the running away, and the stealing-"

"But does _Callie_ know that?" Lena pointed out, gnawing on her lip.

Stef just opened her mouth, not saying a word. Maybe Lena was right. Sure, the whole situation between Callie and Brandon had definitely played a small role in why they'd sent Callie to Girl's United, but it wasn't their only reason for it. They'd sent her there so that she could learn that running away from her problems was never a good solution, and so that she could learn that she was more than she thought she was. They'd sent her there out of _love,_ but what if she didn't see it that way? Sure, the Moms had always hoped and assumed that Callie knew that they'd sent her there because they loved her and because they weren't willing to give up on her, but what if Callie had actually seen it differently. What if Callie really did think that they'd sent her there because they didn't trust her, or love her, or believe in her, or strictly because of what had happened between her and Brandon? What if, because of that, their daughter really didn't feel safe telling them about Idylwild?

"Maybe not," Stef finally responded, her quiet voice laced with sadness. There really was more to the situation than she'd first believed.

A few more minutes passed, then there was a knock on the door and both Lena and Stef quickly stood up. "Come in," Lena called, sending her wife a quick glance. The two exchanged nods, then their eyes fell on Brandon as he walked in, looking nervous. Callie had probably tipped him off. He was never really that nervous going in to see his moms in the office before.

"We need to talk," Stef spoke, her voice cold but not heartless.

"Look Moms, I don't know what Callie told you, but I can explain, alright?"

"Go ahead," Stef spoke. "Explain. Please."

"And be straight with us," Lena continued in a stern tone. "No excuses. No lies. We just want the truth, and we will handle it accordingly. We already spoke with Callie about this earlier."

Brandon opened his mouth, but a loud crack interrupted him and the room fell silent, everyone's jaws dropping. Brandon's eyes widened and he looked at Lena, then Stef, a concerned, shocked expression on his face. Lena furrowed her brow, confused, and took a few steps toward the door.

"What the hell?" The vice principal muttered.

"Lena no," Stef jumped forward, grabbing her wife's arm and pulling her back. She stepped in front of her wife and looked between her and Brandon. "Both of you, stay in here. Lock the windows and door, close the blinds, and unless you are _positive_ that you recognize the voice of anyone who tries to get in, do _not_ open this door."

"Stef what are you doing," Lena hissed. "You can't go out there, you-"

"Mom you can't just go out there and-" Brandon started, panic rising in his chest.

"I _have to,"_ Stef asserted. She was a cop and all of her kids were in that school. She knew what a gunshot sounded like, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that that was what she'd just heard. As much as she didn't want to go out there, she was a cop and she was a mother. She had to. "I'll be fine. Brandon, honey, call your siblings, tell them to stay where they are. Have them text me where they are too. Lena, call the station and call Mike. I have to go. I love you both, okay?"

"Stef," Lena called out softly as her wife began to walk out of the room. The blonde turned, looking at her wife and son with a somewhat anxious look in her eyes. "Be careful," she breathed.

Stef just nodded. "I will," she replied quietly.

She opened her mouth, looking at Brandon, but then another shot echoed through the school. Brandon's eyes widened and he just looked at his mother, scared but also knowing what she had to do. He knew what her job entailed, and he knew that all of his siblings and her children were in that school.

"Go," he nodded finally. She just nodded back at him, then turned. She left the room, shutting the door behind her and pulling her gun out of its holster. There was someone in the school with a gun. There was someone in the school who _had fired_ a gun. She had no clue where that person was, but she had to do what she could to keep not only her children safe, but all of the children safe.

Callie couldn't move. It was like her feet were glued to the ground. She couldn't breathe, either. Everything just stopped. That was a gunshot. She knew it must have been a gunshot. She knew what a gunshot sounded like and that was _definitely_ what she'd just heard.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

The first thing she could even think of was her brother. Jude was somewhere in the school -he was there, and so was the shooter- and she had to find him. Jude was the most important person in her life. She loved him more than anything else in the world, and she would die for him if she had to. She needed to find her younger brother, because there was a chance of that shooter -whoever the hell he was- hurting Jude.

Before her mind could even register it, Callie was sprinting down the hallway, now headed in the opposite direction. Sure, it was a dumb idea to go running through the hallway in that sort if situation, but she _needed_ to find Jude. Even if someone had already called the police, they wouldn't get there for at least another ten or fifteen minutes. That gave that bastard with a gun fifteen minutes to shoot up the school. And even then, the police wouldn't just barge into the school. Stef was a police officer, so Callie knew damn well that there was a specific protocol that needed to be followed by the officers. They'd have to try to bring in a negotiator, and they'd have to figure out where the shooter was, and they'd have to make sure that none of the students would end up getting injured by their actions. There was too much time in the world for whoever the shooter was to hurt someone -to hurt Jude.

Callie knew where he would normally be during second period. He had a math class at the time, which meant that he was only about three minutes away from where she was now if she chose to run -and she was definitely choosing to run. She didn't give a damn if it wasn't safe for her to do so. If God was anywhere close to being on her side, which he normally wasn't, then she'd be able to get to Jude without being spotted by whoever had the gun.

Turning a corner, Callie stopped dead in her tracks. She could suddenly hear screaming, not just from students, but from a voice she recognized. She instantly went back around the corner and pressed her back against the wall, her mind racing. Among the screams from a multitude of students, the voice that she could recognize was filled with rage.

"Shut up!" the voice bellowed. "I said _shut up!"_

Most of the screams died down, but then someone else started shouting as well. Callie couldn't recognize the voice, but it had to have been a girl, maybe a year or so younger than her.

"Please, you don't have to do this, just-"

A loud, bone-chilling crack rang out in the hallway and Callie cupped her mouth with both her hands, as if she were trying to stop herself from letting out a fearful cry. The world went silent aside from a loud, pained screech from the girl who had tried to calm the guy down. Callie was shaking, her heart beating so quickly that she thought it might leap right out of her chest. She didn't dare breathe, fearing that if she made any kind of noise, Nick would hear her.

"I told her to shut up!" Nick shouted, as if he were trying to justify his shooting her.

Callie could hear him marching down the hallway, in her direction, and she had no idea what she could possibly even do. She couldn't run away. He'd hear her and then she'd probably wind up getting shot. She couldn't just stand there, though. He'd see her. She could hear him getting closer, and he was walking quickly. He was walking with a purpose, and that frightened Callie more than anything. Nick wasn't going to let anyone get in his way.

She glanced to her left and caught sight of what was probably a supply closet. It was only a couple feet away from where she was standing, and by the sound of it, Nick was still probably a couple yards away from where she was. She knew that there was a good chance that it was locked, though, and for a brief moment she felt hopeless. She had to try, though. It was her only chance. She quickly headed toward the door and prayed for it to be unlocked as she slowly pushed down on the handle. She was flooded with relief when she heard it click. She didn't waste any time stepping inside of the small space, and she closed the door until there was only a small slit left for her to see through. She didn't want to risk closing it completely. Nick would probably hear it, and she was pretty sure that she'd end up locked inside of it if she were to close the door.

She held her breath as she watched the small slit, waiting for Nick to emerge. He turned the corner a few seconds later, a determined expression on his face. He looked pissed. There were bags under his eyes and he was sweating. He looked nervous, but he still appeared to be undaunted by what he'd just done. He just stood there for a moment, looking down both directions of the hallway.

Her heart stopped when Nick looked directly at the supply closet. His eyes fell right on the slit in the door and Callie felt a sense of hopelessness that she'd never experienced before. He took a step toward the closet, his grip on the gun he held tightening. His jaw was set and Callie knew what was going to come next. Then she heard the sound of a door slamming shut somewhere in the school and Nick turned, tensing up. He glanced back toward the closet, but only for a second. Then, as if he'd completely forgotten what he was about to do, he started down the hallway in the opposite direction, his pace quickening slightly.

She let out a heavy breath of relief, overwhelmed by the knowledge that, had someone not slammed a door somewhere in that school in that _very_ moment, she probably would've been killed right then and there. Her life could have ended, just like that.

Her mind returned to Jude, and then to Mariana and Jesus, and to Brandon. Her mothers, too. Her _entire_ family was in that school. Her _entire_ family was in danger.

She stepped out of the closet once she was sure that Nick was no longer in the hallway. Her feet were numb as she ran down the hallway that he'd been in just a minute or two ago. She was moving quickly again, her mind still set on her younger brother. She had to get him somewhere safe. She stopped, though, when she looked to her right and saw the room where Nick had just been. The door was shut and there was a black paper on the other side of the door covering the window -one of the requirements during a 'Code Blue'. She could here worried voices, though, and she knew that she couldn't just pass by the room. Someone in that room had been shot, and as much as she knew she had to get to Jude's side, she also knew that she couldn't just leave.

She stepped toward the door, trying the handle, but it was locked. The voices in the room immediately silenced and Callie had a pretty good idea why.

"He's gone," she tried nervously, making sure not to speak too loudly. She felt like a sitting duck. Nick could return at any moment, and if he just saw her standing in the hallway, she'd probably wind up dead. "Please, I swear he's gone, just let me in."

There was no response and Callie looked down the hallway worriedly, expecting Nick to appear. She was close to panicking and it took everything she had in her to remain as calm as she could. She tried the handle again, letting out a shaky breath. "Look, I know he hurt one of you, please just let me in, I can help," she tried.

"How do we know you're not with him?" Someone on the other side of the door questioned. He sounded young, like he was just a freshman. The kid couldn't have been much older than Jude.

"You just have to believe me," she answered, knowing it was a long shot. "Look, my name is Callie. My mom's a cop. If someone is hurt in there, I might be able to help. Please, I swear he isn't with me." She looked down the hallway anxiously once more. "But I don't know if he's going to come back, and if he does and he sees me standing here, then-"

"Alright," the boy spoke, the door suddenly opening. Callie exhaled, relieved but still incredibly worried.

She stepped in quickly and heard the guy close the door behind her, locking it. Her eyes fell on a girl who was lying on the floor. Blood was beginning to pool around her and her left hand was on her right shoulder. The girl was young, probably only a year or so older than Jude. She had long brown hair and her face was dotted with freckles. She was too young for all of this and Callie's heart broke for the child. She glanced around the class, biting her lip when she realized that the room was filled with freshmen. There wasn't a teacher anywhere in sight, either. There were just twelve freshmen who looked scared to death and a girl on the ground, bleeding.

They all looked at her, worried expressions on their faces. By the way they looked at her, Callie could tell that they were expecting her to say or do something to help. After all, she was the oldest one out of them all and she'd said that she could help them. Callie wasn't used to taking charge. Sure, she'd started up Fost and Found, and she'd taken care of Jude for years, but this was different. Callie had grown up in violent homes. She'd been traumatized by violence, and this entire situation was violent. Nick was shooting kids in the school. Nick, her brother's best friend and her sister's boyfriend, was shooting kids in the school. How was Callie supposed to help all of the kids in that room? How was she supposed to over them any kind of guidance or hope?

She had to try, though.

"Alright," Callie spoke up after a brief moment, trying to focus on keeping her promise to help them. She quickly knelt down next to the girl who was bleeding and she pressed her hands down on her the girl's shoulder. "All of you, go sit against the wall and try to keep quiet. I know this is scary, and I know you're worried about your friend, but to stay safe, I need you to do what I tell you, okay?"

The kids all nodded, walking slowly to the wall and sitting down against it. A few of them were crying, while some of the others were dead silent.

"What's your name, honey?" Callie asked gently, her eyes meeting those of the wounded girl. There were tears falling from the kid's eyes, but she hadn't made a sound since Callie entered the room.

"A-Angela," she responded, her voice weak and pained.

Callie nodded, offering Angela a small smile. It wasn't much, but she hoped that it would offer the girl some sort of comfort. "Okay," she breathed, her hands still pressed on Angela's wound. "You're doing really good, Angela. You're really, really strong. My name's Callie, alright? I'm gonna help you out, but it might hurt, okay?"

Angela nodded, gritting her teeth and not taking her eyes off of Callie's.

Callie looked up at the kids sitting at the wall. She wanted to help Angela, and she had an idea of how to do so, but she couldn't do it all by herself. Her eyes fell on the boy who had let her into the room. He'd been hesitant about letting her into the room, and he was unusually calm about everything that was going on, which told Callie that he was probably one of the more responsible students in the room.

"What's your name?" she called out to him, biting the corner of her mouth.

"Andy," he replied, swallowing nervously. He was surprisingly calm, considering his age and the given situation.

"Okay, Andy, I need you to go over to your teacher's desk and look for a first-aid kit, or any bandages or anything that can help us out here, okay?"

He nodded, jumping up and rushing to the teacher's desk. As he rummaged through it, Callie looked down at Angela's wound. Having Stef as a mother had benefits that Callie had never even realized before. She'd heard enough stories about some of the stuff that Stef had come across on the job, and she'd been told a few times what to do in situations like these. Sure, whenever the topics had come up, they were hypothetical and they usually started because of Jesus' persistent curiosity, but Callie could remember a conversation that they'd had at the dinner table once. Jesus had mentioned how some guy on a show that he liked had gotten shot in the shoulder and he was complaining about how the guy shouldn't have lived. Callie shut her eyes for a moment, trying to remember exactly what Stef had told them.

 _"It was bullshit!" Jesus shouted, his mouth stuffed with food._

 _"Jesus, language please," Lena spoke up quickly, giving her son a disapproving look. It was clear that Jesus hadn't taken his meds that morning because of how worked up he was about a TV show._

 _"Sorry Mamma," he replied, offering her a small smile. "But I mean seriously, the guy was shot in the shoulder and he lost a lot of blood. He just shouldn't have lived, it's not realistic. He lost too much blood, and I mean, he was shot."_

 _"Why are we talking about this?" Mariana sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. "We're trying to eat, Jesus."_

 _Jesus just gave her a smug look, then took another mouthful of food. Callie just smirked slightly, entertained by her siblings' banter, as well as how emotional Jesus seemed over the show. Brandon didn't seem to care about the conversation too much and Jude didn't seem interested. He was still pretty upset about Connor moving away, which Callie could understand._

 _"Um, because it's ridiculous," Jesus scoffed. "Mariana, think about it, the guy was shot in the shoulder and he was bleeding out for like ten minutes straight before anyone could help him. It's not realistic."_

 _"Actually," Stef finally interrupted, giving Jesus a soft smile, "it's pretty realistic, Jesus." He just looked confused and Stef let out a small chuckle. "Think about it, Love," she explained. "There aren't any vital organs in the shoulder. There are arteries, and there are nerves, but most gun shot wounds to the shoulder really aren't fatal. They're dangerous, yes, but in most cases a person isn't going to die from it as long as they get help."_

 _Lena gave Stef a small smile and Mariana raised an eyebrow at her brother. "Are you done now, Jesus?" Mariana questioned, snarky as always with her brother. He just rolled his eyes and took a sip of water._

 _"How do you know that?" Jude asked, finally joining in the conversation, giving Stef a look of curiosity._

 _Callie smiled softly to herself, glad to see that her brother was at least talking. She knew that he was having a hard time, but she was glad to see him interacting with the family again. Lena appeared to think the same thing too, because Callie caught a glimpse of her mother smiling as well._

 _"Well, Love," Stef started, raising her eyebrows slightly at Jude's question, "I see a lot of injuries with my job, and a lot of the time, they're from someone getting shot." Stef continued to explain to Jude that over time, she'd learned a lot about injuries like those to the shoulder, along with how to take care of them._

 _"With injuries like that," she continued, "as long as you keep pressure on the wound, and if you bandage it up well enough, a person can pull through_ much _more easily."_

 _She continued to speak with Jude, who seemed pretty interested in everything that his mom had to say. Callie gave him a small smile, glad to see him invested in the conversation. He really did seem interested, too. Callie knew that Jude wouldn't ever want to be a cop -he hated violence just as much as she did- but his interest in how Stef knew to care for the injury was something that Callie made a small mental note of. Jude was a responsible kid, and Callie secretly always thought that Jude would make a pretty good doctor in the future. He had a huge heart and cared tremendously for others, and ever since their second foster home, Jude was pretty smart about knowing how to care for the small injuries, like bruises and scrapes. He'd helped Callie make herself a sling once when she'd hurt her arm badly enough._

Callie snapped back to reality. She had to keep pressure on the wound, which she was pretty much doing already. Andy was still searching through the teacher's desk. Angela looked like she was in pain, but she appeared to be handling it very well. Callie knew that the girl must've been in a shitload of pain.

"I got it!" Andy suddenly said, his voice loud but not too loud that Nick would really be able to hear them unless he was very close by.

"Thank God," Callie sighed gratefully, reaching out with one hand for the first aid kit while Andy rushed over to her with it in hand. "Uh, do you have a phone on you?" Callie asked him. He nodded, looking nervously at Angela, who winced when Callie started to apply more pressure on her wound. "Alright, um, Andy, I need you to call 9-1-1 _right_ now, and I need you to explain that your friend's been shot, okay?"

He nodded and Callie called over another student who seemed calm enough to help. She kept her hands pressed on Angela's shoulder and asked the kid to pull out some bandages from the kit. Once he had them out, she took them and started to bandage up Angela's shoulder.

"Angela," Callie started cautiously after wrapping up the girl's shoulder as well as she could, "I need you to try to sit up, okay hun?"

The girl's eyes widened in worry and she shook her head lightly. "I- it, it hurts," she muttered. "I can't, I-"

"Angela, I know you're scared, but I promise you it will help if you just sit up, okay? You don't have to stand. Just uh, just sit against the wall here, okay?"

Angela nodded reluctantly, then Callie helped her sit up against the wall. There was really nothing else that Callie could do and she stood up, trying to figure out what she could possibly do. She still needed to get to Jude. After seeing kids his age so frightened, and especially after seeing one who had been shot, she knew that she needed to get to his brother. He couldn't be put in _this_ situation. As terrible as it sounded, Angela was lucky. She'd been shot in the shoulder and from what Callie knew, it looked like the girl would be okay as long as an actual medical professional would get to see her sometime soon. Andy was still on the phone with the person on the other end of the 9-1-1 call, and Callie had instructed him to keep the person on the phone. The dispatcher or EMT or whoever was on the other end would know how to take better care of Angela and she could guide Andy through how to help her if anything arose. Callie felt guilty for leaving the class of freshmen alone, but she _needed_ to get to Jude. There was nothing more that she could really do for them, and as long as they had 9-1-1 on the phone, they'd probably be able to stay as calm as possible.

After at least twenty minutes, Callie was opening the door again. She looked to the left down the hallway, and then she looked to the right. No one was in sight. She couldn't hear Nick walking around, and she couldn't hear any shouting. She hadn't heard another gunshot since Angela, either, which Callie hoped was a good sign. She needed to get to Jude and she needed to get to him as quickly as possible. Time was a huge factor in all of this, and she didn't want to get to Jude even a second later than she possibly could. If he was still in the room where he typically had second period, then Callie knew where to go to find him. She could only pray that nothing had happened to him and that she wouldn't run into Nick in the hallway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. So firstly, I just want to say thanks for all the reviews. Some of you are asking about whether or not this is a Brallie story, and I'm just gonna say flat out that it's not. I mean, yeah, there's going to be a little bit of focus on their friendship/sibling relationship and on the "events" that went down in Idyllwild, but aside from that, there's really not going to be any Brallie. I honestly just don't like them together romantically and that's my personal opinion. Sorry if this disappoints any of you. Also, this story is probably going to be pretty long. Yes, right now we're focusing on what's going on in the shooting, but I promise I'm not suddenly just going to end the story at chapter five with an "and everyone lived happily ever after" or some tragedy without any follow-up at all. I used to post a _lot_ of other fanfics with another account, and if you know me, you know I love to write about the whole recovery process when I do a hurt/comfort kind of story. So expect this to be a pretty long story (I don't doubt that it'll at least reach 30 chapters) that focuses a _lot_ on the family dynamics of the Adams-Fosters. I'm not going to give anything serious away, though, because I don't want to spoil anything.**

 **Anyway, I'm sure I've bored you all enough with all of that ^^^ so I think it's about time for Chapter 4!**

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Callie ran. She ran, her feet hitting against the ground at an uneven pace as she frantically tried to get to her brother's classroom. She was probably making more noise than she should have been, sure, but she was desperate to find Jude. She _had_ to find Jude. The more she thought about it, the more she panicked. She and Jude had seen and experienced more violence than anyone should have ever have to in a lifetime. She was already pretty close to a panic attack -she knew the symptoms. Her head was fuzzy and she really couldn't feel her hands or feet. Hell, her tongue was numb. She felt like her rib cage had caved in, constricting her lungs and racing heart. She knew from experience what a panic attack consisted of, and she knew that she was already experiencing some of the symptoms. She wasn't there yet, though, and she knew that she had to fight it off. She had to get to Jude. He was her top priority in that moment. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe it was some unearthly power of will, but she hadn't quite yet reached a panic attack and she didn't intend on doing so. Not yet, at least.

She was numb, really. She couldn't feel. A large part of it _was_ the state of shock that she was in. Really, she was just running on auto-pilot now. She wasn't even entirely sure what she was doing, but she knew that she was getting to her younger brother. She couldn't feel, though, and everything around her had practically faded away. She couldn't hear anything aside from her own heart beating. She couldn't feel anything aside from the fear that was rising in her chest. She knew where she was going, and she could see, but everything was a blur. Her feet were carrying her forward more quickly than her mind could really register anything around her.

Maybe she should've been more careful. Maybe she should've just stayed in that room filled with freshmen. Hell, maybe she should've just stayed in that supplies closet. But she wasn't thinking. She was hardly even conscious of what she was doing anymore. The only thing that she knew in that very moment was that she needed to find her brother. She was risking her life, and maybe Jude didn't _need_ her in that moment, but she couldn't help it. Ever since her mother's death and her father's indictment, Jude had been Callie's responsibility. She had promised herself and her deceased mother that she would take care of him, no matter what. She'd practically been his mother. Sure, they were a part of the Adams-Foster family now, but that didn't change how much Callie cared for her brother, or even how much she worried about him. She knew Jude, too, more than anyone else, and she knew that while he was strong and responsible, he was definitely scared in that moment. He had a right to be, too. Callie was scared too. So yeah, maybe she should've been more careful, but she didn't give a damn about her safety.

She turned a corner, knowing that she was in the right hallway but still feeling as though she was too far away. Jude's classroom was a mere stretch of ten yards or so, but she felt like the more she ran toward it, the farther away it got. There wasn't enough time in the world for her to get there. She was sprinting, the panic beginning to consume her. She had no idea if he'd even be in there. What if he wasn't? She couldn't just search through the entire school. That would put herself, and ultimately him and other students, in more danger. What if he was there, though, but in bad shape? What if he'd been hurt? To Callie's knowledge, Nick had only hurt two people, but what if she was wrong? And what if Jude just happened to be the other person that Nick had shot?

She finally reached the door, her breaths rushed and shallow, and she pulled down on the handle, relieved and also more anxious with the recognition that the door was locked. "Jude," she called out, trying to keep her voice quiet enough that Nick wouldn't hear her if he were near, but loud enough that he'd be able to hear her. "Jude, baby, it's Callie. Are you in there?" There was no response and she bit down on her bottom lip, her voice cracking slightly. "Jude?"

She heard the click of the door's lock being undone, and then the door opened. Callie was eternally grateful when she saw her brother in the doorway and she entered the room quickly, locking the door behind her.

Jude wrapped his arms around her, and she returned his embrace, holding him tightly. "Oh thank god," she breathed out shakily, letting out the heavy breath that she'd been holding ever since her conversation with Stef and Lena. God, that seemed like a life-time ago. In reality, though, two hours hadn't even passed since she was sitting in the office, feeling like the world was coming to an end.

"Thank God you're okay," she sighed, still not letting go of her brother. She then pulled back a moment later, her brow furrowed, and placed her hands on his shoulders, looking him over. "You're okay, right?" she asked him, suddenly very concerned once again. He was there, but who was to say that he hadn't been hurt at all?

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Jude nodded quickly, sadness and worry coating his features. There was also a sense of security in his eyes, though, due to the fact that Callie was there with him.

They embraced once more, not letting go for a considerable length of time, and then Jude pulled away. He opened his mouth to speak, but then his face went pale and his eyes went wide and he gasped. "Callie what happened?" he said, fear evident in his expression.

Callie followed his eyes to her hands and shirt, realizing that they were stained red. She hadn't even noticed. The blood, Angela's blood, was all over her hands and had gotten onto her clothes. It took Callie a moment to realize why Jude had seemed so frightened, and when she finally got it, she just shook her head.

"It's not mine," she whispered, keeping her voice as steady as possible. "I'm fine Jude, it's not mine."

Jude just nodded, his eyes fixed on the blood for a moment before he looked behind where they were standing. Callie took notice of her surroundings. They were in Jude's math classroom, that much she knew. The room was filled with kids around Jude's age. They, just like the room of freshmen that she'd been in previously, were way too young to go through something like this. It broke her heart seeing all of the frightened, hopeless, and sorrow-filled looks on their faces. Everyone was sitting against the wall of the room, where they wouldn't be seen if someone were to look through the covered window of the door. Callie put a protective arm over Jude's shoulders before walking toward an empty spot on the wall with him.

The siblings sat down against the wall, Callie not taking her arm off of Jude for an instant. He was comforted by her, too. He wasn't too tense, and the presence of his sister seemed to ease his fears somewhat. They were together, just like they'd always been. Callie, too, felt safer when she was with her brother. Yeah, she was the one who was responsible for him, but Jude had always been her rock. He'd always been the glue that held her together, whether he knew it or not. From foster home to foster home, Jude had been her only real reason to live, and to work hard to stay on the safe side of things. She'd never turned to drugs because she needed to set a positive example, and because she needed to keep him safe. She couldn't do that if she were high. She never really gotten drunk at all, mostly in part to the fact that her father's drunk driving had been what had put them in the foster system to begin with, but also because she didn't want to set a bad example for Jude, or do or say anything that could put him in danger. She'd never really turned to crime, aside from busting up her previous foster father's car. That was for a damn good reason, though. Jude had really always been the only reason why she'd followed the safe path. After everything with Liam, Jude had been her support. He'd been the only reason she had to live. Honestly, without him, she'd probably be dead by now. Knowing that they were together, that she could protect him and that he'd be okay, was keeping her together in that moment. As sad as the situation really was, the thought of it was somewhat comforting.

No one spoke. Maybe that was because the school's protocol -which had been practiced twice a year during mandatory drills- listed that no one could speak in such an event, or maybe it was just because the situation was far too somber for anyone to speak. At least one person had been shot. Realistically, it had probably been two people. That would account for both of the times that Nick had fired the gun. No one knew who was hurt, or if those people were even alive. Sure, Callie knew about Angela and she hoped that the girl really would be fine, but no one really knew _anything_ about what was going on. All that Callie knew was that Nick was the shooter and that he'd fired the gun twice.

How could it have been Nick, though? Sure, the guy had always seemed a little off his rocker to Callie, but she never could have imagined that he'd do something like this. Nick was Jesus's best friend. He was Mariana's boyfriend. Both Stef and Lena had taken a liking to him. Mike probably had as well. The guy helped out with Brandon's play, and Mariana really seemed to like him. How the hell could this happen?

"Oh my God," she breathed after at least half an hour of silence, suddenly growing more worried. What if something had happened? She knew that it was unlikely, but was it possible that Nick had the intent of hurting a specific person? He was new to Anchor Beach, and aside from Jesus and Mariana, he really didn't know anyone else or have any other good friends. What if there was a target in all of this?

Everyone seemed to look over at her, concern evident in their expressions. Jude furrowed his brow, looking into his sister's eyes like he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. "What?" he asked, his voice low.

"Jude, do you have your phone on you?" she asked him quietly, swallowing the knot in her throat.

Jude just nodded softly, still looking at his sister with concern. He nodded, pulling it out of his back pocket. "Brandon called me earlier," he said quietly, looking at the floor as he handed Callie the phone. "He was asking where I was and told me to stay in here." He paused, then spoke again. "He said he's with Mamma, in her office."

Callie nodded, giving her little brother a small, sad smile that didn't meet her eyes. "It'll be okay, Jude," she whispered, giving him a kiss on the top of the head. " _We_ will be okay," she tried to assure him quietly.

He just nodded, resting his head against his sister.

Callie quickly tried to call Stef. She knew that her mom was in the school, and that she'd been in uniform. As much as it worried her, she knew that Stef was probably working on helping to figure out who was behind all of this and on getting kids out of the school safely. Callie needed to tell her that it was Nick.

No one answered, and Callie mentally cursed. Maybe Stef just didn't realize that Callie was calling her. If Stef really was helping out, then she obviously couldn't answer her phone. Not at the moment, at least. Callie rang Brandon's number next. If he was really with Lena, then at least she could tell _them_ everything she knew.

He answered on the third ring and Callie silently thanked God for that.

"Jude?" Brandon answered, concern evident in his voice. "Are you okay? Are you h-"

"Brandon it's Callie," she blurted out, not wanting to waste any time. "We're fine, I just- it's Nick, Brandon."

"Shit," Brandon cursed.

A few seconds of silence passed, then another voice piped up on the other end. "Callie, it's Mama," Lena spoke urgently but still calmly. "What happened? Was he shot? Are-"

"No," Callie sighed, frustrated. She didn't get it. "Nick isn't _hurt_... He's the shooter."

Okay so I mean I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter to be honest. I know it might seem kind of rushed, but I figured this would just work better for what I have in mind for this story. I promise the rest of the story won't be rushed, and I'll also try not to drag on some things for too long.

On another note, my story is acting up. This is the fourth chapter that I've posted, and ever since I originally published this fic, it hasn't been popping up in the list of "Fosters" stories with anything saying it's been updated. So basically, my updates aren't popping up. I don't know what's going on, because this has never happened with me before with other stories that I've posted. Oh well. Hopefully it'll sort itself out sometime soon.

lastly, I am _always_ open to new ideas, comments, critique, and thoughts. If you have anything that you'd like to suggest or just say, please feel free to leave a review or PM me if you'd like!

Have a good day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Well it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that guys. Life has really gotten in the way of things, and I've had to deal with some personal stuff. I'm sure you can all understand, as we all have to deal with that at some point or another. The good news is, I'm back and I sure as hell haven't given up on this story. It's just getting started now.**

 **Now here's the important thing: I received a review mentioning that Stef's character seems very out-of-character, and that person was 100% correct. I've been aware of that for a while now, and to be honest, that's another part of why I haven't updated. I've been fixing that. Which means that I've revised the first couple chapters, most specifically chapters one and two. Stef was incredibly OOC when I started this and it's been bothering me _a lot_ for the past couple weeks. But I finally fixed up what I think I really needed to fix and yeah, it's been revised. I've revised all of the past chapters in one way or another, but if you don't want to re-read all 4 chapters, I _really_ recommend re-reading the first chapter. It's very different, now. **

**Anyway, sorry about that long spiel. It's been a while and I'm sure you'd like to get on with the story. Ah, and one more thing about that. Because it's been so long, Imma give you two new chapters tonight instead of one. That's only fair, right?  
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Lena's heart was pounding in her chest and she took a deep breath, listening to what the officer on the phone was telling her. Fifteen minutes had passed since the first gunshot. Fifteen minutes had gone by with Lena not knowing he state of four of her children. Fifteen minutes had gone by with Lena knowing that Stef, who wasn't even fully recovered from her mastectomy, was somewhere in the school, basically making herself an easy target for whomever the shooter was. The second gunshot had gone off ten minutes ago. The police, as she was being told, had just arrived.

Lena was married to a cop. Sure, she didn't know all the logistics of the job, but she understood protocol. She understood why situations such as this one were not black and white. As much as it killed her inside, she understood when the sergeant on the phone told her that the police couldn't yet enter the building. Firstly, they didn't know who the gunman was. Also, if they just barged in, it could aggravate the shooter more than necessary, which could result in senseless injuries or deaths. It would be dangerous not only for the students, but even for the officers. Sure, if another shot were to ring out, then they'd have a reason to rush into the building, but in that moment, there was nothing that they could _really_ do yet in terms of actually getting the bastard in cuffs.

"We're working on getting our negotiator down here," the sergeant said, his voice low and serious. "He should be here within the next twenty minutes. Until then, stay where you are and-"

He continued, rattling off instructions and information to the vice principal while she tried to pull up the live surveillance footage of the school hallways. Even though there was nothing that she could do outside of the room, if there was any way for her to help stop the madness, she would do her best to do so.

Brandon was sitting against the wall, his cellphone in hand. He was silent, his mind heavy with dread and his chest right with worry. He'd gotten ahold of Jesus, Mariana, and Jude, but every time that he'd tried to call Callie, it went straight to voicemail. Jesus and Mariana were together, not too far from the office. They both had been scheduled to have physics during second period, but that clearly hadn't happened. Jude was in one of the math classrooms on the other side of the school. Brandon had no clue where Callie could have been, though, and he couldn't get the thought out of his mind. She'd texted him just moments before the first shot rang out, but that was all. He hadn't been in contact with her at all since that first text and he felt sick not knowing where she was.

He was worried about his mom, too. She'd been shot before and that had been enough for him to _really_ worry about her and his father when they were on the job. Now, though, she was walking through the school at the same time as a gunman and she didn't even have backup. She had her gun and that was about all. His dad wasn't in the school, and while he knew that other cops were outside, he knew that there was no one _in_ the school who could have his mom's back. What if the shooter, whoever the hell it was, were to see her? She'd be an open target. Sure, she was a remarkable officer, but she was still recovering from her surgery and she wasn't invincible. As super-human as she might have seemed sometimes, she was still human, and Brandon knew that all too well.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed by, but when his phone began to vibrate on the ground next to him, he felt his heart jump. Lena immediately looked in his direction, her eyes anxious, and then the two made eye contact. She offered him a reassuring nod, swallowing the knot in her throat, and Brandon picked up the phone.

"It's Jude," he said quietly, his worry growing.

Did something happen? Why was Jude calling him? They'd already spoken not too long ago, and Brandon had told him not to call him unless it was important. They needed to be careful, and they couldn't risk having any of their phones die. If things were to escalate, the family would need to be able to stay in contact with each other.

Lena's eyes widened, her worry clear as well, and she set down the phone, telling the officer that she'd be back in a moment. She stepped over toward Brandon, biting her top lip nervously.

He immediately answered, then, trying to hold back most of the worry in his tone when he spoke. He didn't want to make Jude any more frightened than he probably already was, but he couldn't help but worry. Jude was his youngest brother and the kid was young, way too young to have to be experiencing something anywhere near as terrifying as this.

"Jude?" Brandon breathed, standing up and running a hand through his hair nervously. He put the phone on speaker mode so that Lena could hear everything that was said. "Are you okay? Are you h-"

"Brandon it's Callie," his sister rushed, her voice flustered.

He felt a rush of relief at hearing her. She was okay. She was alive. She might not have been answering her own phone, but she was alive. He glanced over at Lena, who let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank god," his mother breathed, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

"We're fine," Callie continued, leaving no time for him to speak. "I just- it's Nick, Brandon."

Brandon furrowed his brow, his stomach getting sick. Nick must've been hurt. That was the only thing that made sense to him when Callie had said those words. He must've been one of the gunman's victims. Sure, he and Nick weren't exactly friends, but he didn't have an issue with the brash junior. Nick was Jesus's best friend, and he seemed to make Mariana happy, so that was enough to keep Brandon on his good side. Plus, the guy was the main reason why R & J really even worked out. Had Nick not gotten his father to let them use the warehouse, the musical probably never would have even happened. Nick had helped out the family more than enough, and while the kid was pretty headstrong, none of the Adams-Fosters really had a bad perception of who he was. He could be impulsive, but he was a good kid. Brandon didn't have some strong friendship with him, but the guy was important to the twins -especially Mariana- and hearing that he might've been badly injured was enough to make Brandon a little nauseous.

"Shit," he muttered, nervously running a hand through his hair while he and Lena shared a nervous glance.

"Callie, it's Mama," Lena spoke up, keeping her voice calming but serious at the same time. "What happened? Was he shot? Are-"

"No," Callie interrupted with a sharp sigh, sounding irritated. "Nick isn't _hurt_... He's the shooter."

Brandon's jaw dropped and he furrowed his brow, shocked and confused. Nick was clearly a bit of a messed up guy, but Brandon never could have pegged him as someone capable of this. Street racing or popping pills, sure, but shooting innocent students and terrorizing a school? He never would've thought it was possible.

"Callie, honey, what do you mean?" Lena asked, keeping her voice as calm as possible. "How do you know that it's Nick?"

"I heard him yelling and I-" she stopped for a moment. "I saw him. With the gun. It's him, Mama."

Lena let out a nervous breath, nodding to herself. As much as she didn't want to believe that it was Nick, she wasn't _too_ surprised to hear that it was him. Nick had always seemed a little off to her, and being the vice principal, she knew that he'd gotten himself into trouble more than a few times. She had no clue why this was happening, though.

"I'll call my dad," Brandon spoke, his voice quiet. Mike was outside of the school. If Brandon could tell his father about Nick, then at least the officers would know who they were dealing with.

Lena nodded, pulling her own cell phone out of her pocket and handing it to Brandon as she spoke to Callie.

"Callie, you said you saw him," Lena continued, concerned. "Are you hurt? Did-"

"He didn't see me," Callie interrupted, catching onto what Lena was getting to. "I'm okay, Mama."

Lena let out a sigh of relief. When Callie had mentioned that she saw Nick, she'd grown worried. If he'd seen her, she probably would be hurt right now.

"Thank god," Lena breathed out. "You stay where you are, okay? Make sure the doors are locked, and stay where you are. You're with Jude, right Love?"

"Yeah Mama, I'm here," Jude's voice came through the phone.

"Okay. Okay, good. You just stay with your sister slight? Everything's gonna be okay."

She spoke quietly with the two for a few minutes, making sure they knew to stay where they were and checking on where they were and who was with them. After Lena made a small comment about being grateful that neither of the two children were hurt, Callie suddenly interrupted, her tone urgent once more.

"Shit," she muttered, sounding worried.

"What is it, Callie?"Lena questioned, her heart rising nervously in her chest. "What's wrong?"

"There's a girl, her name's Angela, Nick shot her," Callie started, speaking quickly. "I think she's a freshman, I'm not sure. I was looking for Jude and that's when I heard Nick yelling and he shot her and he-"

"Callie, Callie, just breathe honey okay?" Lena stopped her, keeping her tone as calm as possible despite how difficult it was to do so in that situation. Callie was speaking quickly, probably sending herself into what could potentially be a panic attack. "Just breathe. Tell me what happened, but breathe."

She could hear Callie take a shaky breath, and she couldn't make out what he'd said but she could hear Jude say something quietly to her as well. After a few moments, Callie started again, her voice a little shaky.

"It was a little after the first gunshot. I was trying to get to Jude, and I could hear Nick yelling. A girl, Angela, tried talking him down and I guess he just got pissed so he shot her. I hid in a janitor's closet and waited for him to leave, then I tried to help her."

"Was anyone else there hurt?" Lena asked, a knot in her throat. Nick had actually shot a student.

"No," Callie responded, her voice growing hoarse. "No it was just her. She was shot in the shoulder and I managed to wrap it up, and as long as she gets out soon I think she should be should be fine but-" Callie's voice cracked and Lena's heart broke for her daughter. "Mama she was just a freshman."

Lena closed her eyes, her bottom lip quivering slightly. It wasn't right. Fourteen year olds weren't supposed to get shot. Children weren't supposed to have to be afraid of getting killed in school. Callie, especially at her age, wasn't supposed to have to tend to a gun shot wound. And Callie was clearly pretty torn up over it. The girl wasn't crying, but she seemed pretty damn close to it, and it shattered Lena's heart.

"Callie, you helped her," Lena attempted to reassure her daughter. "I don't think that anyone else in that room would have known what to do, and if it weren't for you, she might be a lot worse off. You helped her, okay Love?"

Callie let out a shaky breath. "Yeah," she choked out quietly. "Maybe." She let out a sigh. "Mama he's not just doing this for no reason. I saw him. He looked like he was looking for someone. You don't think this has to do with Jesus, or Mariana, do you?"

Lena felt her stomach turn. She hadn't even thought of that. In all of the mess, it hadn't even occurred to her that Nick could be doing this for some twisted reason that involved one of her kids, and as much as she didn't want to believe it, it could be true. She had no clue what could have sparked this, but it was still a possibility.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so stuff's gonna start getting a little more angst-y you guys. And if you know me, you know that the angst-y-er it gets, the more I'm gonna be writing and the more frequent the uploads will get, so you shouldn't even have to wait more than a few days for the next update. Hold onto your seats folks because I don't hold back when it comes to this kinda stuff. Shit's. Getting. Serious.**

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"You don't think this has to do with Jesus, or Mariana, do you?" Callie asked, worry growing in the pit of her stomach.

She has a gut feeling that this was more than just Nick trying to get back at someone who had pissed him off. Sure, Nick's temper definitely got out of hand sometime, but even if someone at the school had done something to piss him off, Callie doubted that he'd ever even try to resort to something like this. Unless it had to do with Jesus or Mariana. Those were the only people that Nick really seemed to ever be around.

She heard Lena take in a small, worried breath. "I don't know," her mother spoke, her voice quiet, "but-"

Callie's attention was ripped from the phone as she heard the sound of a door handle being turned. Her eyes shot to the door, as did everyone else's. The windows were covered, so she couldn't see who was there, but by the forcefulness of how the person was trying to open the door, she had a pretty sure idea of who it was. She gritted her teeth, gripping her phone tightly in one hand and tightening her hold on Jude with the other. Maybe Nick would just walk away. Maybe he wouldn't try to get into the room. Hell, maybe it wasn't even Nick.

Lena kept talking on the other end of the phone, clearly not having any idea that someone was outside of the classroom since she wasn't there to hear the noise. She said something to Callie about staying where she was, and that the police would handle everything, but Callie didn't even listen. Her eyes were glued to the door and she was scared to even breathe too loudly.

Jude looked at Callie, which gained some of his sister's attention. She could see the worry in his eyes and she wrapped her arm around him, holding him tightly against her. "We'll be okay," she whispered, her voice barely even audible. He just nodded, swallowing nervously.

A few seconds passed, the person outside still trying to open the door. Lena stopped talking and a moment of silence passed by. Then, most likely realizing that neither Callie nor Jude had responded to her, Lena spoke again.

"Callie, honey, are you there?" She asked, her voice gentle.

She hesitated for a moment, her hand shaking as she held the phone up to her ear without yet responding. Then, summoning the strength that she could, she opened her mouth.

"He's here, Mama" Callie breathed, her voice shaky.

She watched the door and complete silence fell over the room. The guy stopped trying to turn the door handle and Lena didn't speak, likely shocked, worried, and trying to figure out what she could tell her daughter.

Then, suddenly and without warning, she heard the sound of metal hitting metal and she jumped slightly, as did every other person in the room. He was trying to break the door handle, Callie assumed. The sound echoed through the school, and Callie could hear Lena speaking again but she'd dropped the phone and was no longer focused on what her mother was saying in that moment.

The sound repeated as he brought the handle of his gun back down on the door handle. Then it repeated again, and Callie held her breath.

"Get behind me," she whispered to Jude, moving so that she was in front of him. Her brother looked like he was about to protest but she gave him a look that told him that even if he did, she'd do anything to stay in front of him.

After another hit, Callie gritted her teeth at the sound of the handle finally breaking and calling to the ground. Callie stood up, then, knowing that Nick was going to be walking into the room, likely pissed, at any second. The room was filled with eighth graders and Callie wasn't going to risk anyone else that young getting shot again. If Nick was going to look for someone in that room to be pissed at, it would be her. She was older, and if she had to try to talk him down so that he wouldn't hurt anyone else, she'd do so. Then again, after seeing what he'd done to Angela, she doubted that he'd want some sort of negotiation to go down.

The door flew open and Callie swallowed the lump in her throat, staying where she was. Nick walked in, his gun at his side and with a wild look in his eyes. He was sweating and breathing heavily, his jaw set, and his eyes flew to Callie, who was the only person in the room standing. He shut the door behind him as best as he could considering the handle had been broken, and he took a few steps forward, glaring at Callie.

"You should've let me in, Callie, and it would have been a _lot_ easier for us both," he growled, tightening his hold on the weapon.

Callie stayed where she was, trying to keep her posture and trying to look as calm as possible. Her eyes darted down to the gun in his hand and then back up to his face. "Nick," she started, her voice not quite as strong as she'd hoped it would be. "Why are you doing this?"

He just shook his head, stepping forward and closing the distance between the two. His face was inches from hers and she could feel the heat radiating off of him from how worked up he was. She grimaced slightly when she felt the cold metal of his gun touch her stomach. His eyes didn't change. He was pissed. Enraged. She doubted that he'd hesitate to pull the trigger if she were to do anything to aggravate him any more.

"I don't want to shoot you, Callie," he spoke, his voice low. "You're Jesus' sister and I wouldn't want to take that away from him. But if I have to, I will."

Callie swallowed hard. Nick was serious, that much was clear. He said that she was "Jesus' " sister, though, which worried her more. She was Mariana's sister, too, and Nick was dating Mariana. The fact that he didn't bring up the fact that she was his girlfriend's sister too worried her. That should have mattered to him, and since it didn't seem too, it was starting to look more and more like this could have something to do with Mariana.

"Okay," Callie nodded, being as careful as possible in choosing her words. "But Nick, can-"

"You don't ask questions," he growled, pushing the gun into her stomach and tightening his lips. His eyes flared up and Callie clenched her teeth, holding back the gasp that she'd almost let out.

She just nodded, trying to look as strong and as calm as possible. She didn't want to piss the bastard off any more than she probably already had, but she also didn't want to make him think she was weak. That could put more people in danger than necessary.

He smirked, catching Callie off guard, and grabbed her arm with his other hand, his grip tight.

"Good," he spiked, a cynical grin on his face. "Now I'm gonna need your help with something." He spun her around, then, pushing the gun against the small of her back and grabbing both her wrists in his other hand, holding them behind her. "And if you try anything smart," he warned, "it's lights out for you."

Callie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Okay," she finally breathed after a few seconds of silence. She didn't know what he wanted, but she knew that if it would get anyone else hurt, she wasn't going to do it. She needed to make him think that she would, though. At least until they were far enough away from the rest of the kids. Especially Jude.

"Callie, _no,"_ Jude suddenly spoke up, jumping up and giving her an incredulous look. He was worried. That much was clear.

She looked him in the eyes and mouthed a quick "I'll be okay," before Nick backed up, yanking her back with him. Jude just looked back and forth from Callie to Nick, worry but also anger etched in his expression.

"Let her go," Jude said defiantly, taking a step toward Nick, whose gun was still pressed into the small of Callie's back.

"Jude, _sit down,"_ Callie urged, her stomach doing somersaults inside of her. If he didn't shut up he was going to get himself hurt.

"Listen to your sister, kid," Nick scoffed, tightening his grip around Callie's wrists. "Or you'll be the one who gets a bullet in his head."

" _No_ ," Callie begged, trying to pull away from Nick's grip. "Please, don't hurt him, Nick. He didn't do anything, just-"

" _Don't_ tell me what to do!" Nick shouted, letting go of Callie's wrists and throwing her toward the closest wall.

He threw her hard, and with a lot more force than necessary. Her face made contact with the white brick wall and she started to fall to the ground, but she managed to catch herself before she could. She heard Jude shout out her name, his voice struck with fear, and she turned her head to see where he was. She started to stand up-right, but Nick appeared behind her and grabbed her shoulder. He spun her around so that her back was against the wall and he glared at her, his hand shaking angrily as he held the gun inches away from her face, his finger on the trigger.

" _I_ am in charge here, bitch," he hissed, digging his thumb into her shoulder.

Callie recognized that look in his eyes. She'd seen it far too many times in her life already. It was the same look that she'd seen in countless other foster homes. She couldn't help but be reminded of some of them. She felt helpless. She was pinned down, frightened, and had absolutely no control over the situation whatsoever. In a sick, twisted way, it all reminded her of Liam. Sure, the situation was far from what it had been back then with him, but the look in Nick's eyes and the predicament that she was in forced the memories to come back. Except, this time, there were other people to worry about, too. Especially Jude, who was looking at her with wide, worried eyes.

"Please," she whispered, trying to keep her voice strong. "Just don't hurt-"

Before she knew it, Nick had his arm up in the air and he brought the handle of the gun down onto her face. The metal object collided with her jaw and, had Nick not still been pinning her against the wall with his other hand, Callie probably would have fallen from the hit. It made her slightly dizzy instantly, and she blinked a few times to clear her vision, suddenly disoriented. There was some blood in her mouth and she spent it onto the ground, somewhat confused about what had happened. She started to snap back into it, though, when Nick grabbed her chin so she could look him in the eyes. He pushed the gun against her forehead and looked in the eyes, his expressions dead serious.

"One more word," he told her, his voice low, "and you both die."

Callie just swallowed once more, then nodded slowly after a few seconds. She understood. She needed to listen to Nick, for now at least. He spun her around once more, holding the gun against the back of her head, and reached into his coat pocket. Nick told Jude to sit down once more, and Callie looked over to her brother out of the corner of her eye as he did so. She felt somewhat relieved, then, seeing that Jude had caught onto the fact that pissing of Nick wasn't going to do anyone any good.

"I brought this for Mariana," Nick said with a wicked smirk as he pulled out a small roll of electrical tape, "but it looks like I'm gonna have to use it on you too."

Callie closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath as Nick wrapped the tape around her wrists, which were once more behind her back. He wrapped the tape a few times around, making sure that it was tight and thick enough that Callie couldn't rip it off, and then stuck the roll back in his pocket. She didn't know what made her more sick, the restraints or the fact that she now knew that Nick definitely was out to get Mariana. It was the latter of the two, she decided a moment later.

"Now," he spoke, his voice firm, "let's go for a walk."

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 **Okay maybe it's not _that_ angst-y yet, but I promise that the next few chapters are going to be very very angst-y and if I can manage to write them well enough and with as much emotion as I'd like, they'll have you on the edge of your seat. Hopefully.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay so this chapter came kinda quickly I guess. Haha that's three chapters in just twelve hours though so I mean that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'll probably have the next chapter up by tomorrow if I'm being honest.**

 **Anyway, this chapter gets kinda dark, so get ready. There's a lot more to come after this.  
**

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Callie held her breath as Nick walked her out of the room, the barrel of the gun still pressing against her back. She'd had guns waved around at her before. She'd been hit around before. She should've been used to this. She shouldn't have been shaking. She shouldn't have been on the verge of tears. She shouldn't have been as shocked as she'd been when he finally got violent with her. But for some reason, she was.

He pushed her forward once they were far enough away from the room and Callie clenched her teeth, trying to be ready for whatever was coming. His grip on her arm tightened and she swallowed nervously.

" _You_ are going to show me where Mariana is," Nick ordered, his voice menacingly serious. "And you better not screw with me, Foster."

Callie's closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew exactly where Mariana was -or at least where she was supposed to be. There was no way in Hell that Callie was going to give that to Nick, though. Not in the state that he was in, not while he was holding a very functional weapon in his hands. Mariana was her sister and Callie wasn't going to risk getting her killed just to save her own ass.

"I don't know where she is, Nick," Callie responded, shaking her head. "I-"

" _You know damn well where she is,"_ he hissed, pressing the gun hard enough against her that it actually hurt. "And if you don't tell me where she is _right_ now, then-"

"Nick I _don't_ know," Callie tried again, her tone almost pleading. "I don't have class with her this period, how am I supposed to know where-"

He suddenly pulled the gun away from her back and forcefully shoved it against Callie's temple, his hand shaking. She stopped talking, her eyes going wide, and he tightened his grip on her arm, most likely leaving what would soon become bruises.

"You have three seconds," Nick growled. Callie just stood there, her heart rising in her chest.

"Three," he started. She didn't speak. She didn't move. She just stood there, still refusing to give him what he wanted.

"Two," he pushed the gun against the side of her head even harder and she winced slightly. This was it. She was done. So much for telling Jude that everything would be okay. She was going to die with Stef and Lena likely still pissed at her for the Idylwild situation. With Brandon not even knowing _why_ she had told their moms about it. With Jude, who would probably hear the gunshot and know exactly what had happened, probably scared to death and expecting that his sister wouldn't even make it out alive. With Mariana in danger. Everything was over for her, and she was leaving in the worst possible way.

" _One_ ," he hissed, his finger moving to the trigger and she squeezed her eyes shut

Callie heard a loud, echoing 'bang,' but she didn't feel anything. It wasn't even loud enough to have been Nick's gun. Hell, it didn't even sound like a gun shot. It had probably been another door slamming shut somewhere in the school. It was enough to make Nick loosen his grip on the gun, though. She could tell that he was suddenly nervous. Maybe he was finally starting to realize how stupid all of this was -how dangerous it was.

He did nothing for a minute, and Callie stood there, not moving for the fear that doing so might just piss Nick off even more. After a few seconds, he finally let out a frustrated sigh, lowering the gun and putting it against Callie's back again. He looked around and headed toward a door that wasn't entirely closed nearby. Callie took a shaky breath, walking forward as he gave her another forceful nudge. When she walked in, she realized that it wasn't even a classroom. It was the copying room. The room was small, containing only a table surrounded by a couple of chairs, the copying machine, and a filing cabinet. The lights were off, and as Nick pushed Callie further into the room, she bumped against the table and let out a short grunt, gritting her teeth.

She turned her head to look at Nick, who locked the door behind them. He looked nervous. Scared, even. Like he didn't even know what he was doing. Maybe the sound of the door slamming had reminded him that this was all real. That people were in the school. That a SWAT team was probably outside by now. That he wouldn't just get away with all of this. He ran a hand nervously through his hair, still keeping the gun against Callie with his other hand. He let out a shaky breath, and Callie furrowed her brow. He was nervous. He was definitely nervous. Maybe that meant that she had an opportunity to try to talk him out of it all, though.

"Nick, you can't actually want all of this," Callie tried. "You-"

"Shut up," he growled, the anger flaring up in his eyes again. He turned her and shoved her backwards so that her back was against the wall and he pressed his arm across her chest, holding her against the wall as the gun pressed against her stomach. "How many times to I have to tell you to _fucking_ shut up?"

Callie closed her eyes, letting out a breath, then opened them again and looked straight at Nick, whose face was barely inches from hers. "I'm not going to help you find Mariana," Callie spoke, her voice cold, "and if you shoot me, the police are going to come rushing in here and you won't be able to accomplish anything."

He narrowed his eyes, pushing his arm harder against her chest. She could feel his breath on her face and she did everything she could to keep her strong exterior. She wasn't going to help him and she wasn't going to show him that she was afraid, either. "You're not gonna help me?" he whispered venomously, raising an eyebrow.

Callie just kept her jaw clenched shut, glaring him in the eyes. That was enough of an answer for him. She wasn't going to help him, even if that would end up costing her her life.

"Fine," he spat, his rage taking over once more. "Then I guess I'm just gonna have to _make_ you."

It didn't take a genius to know what he meant, and Callie felt her stomach drop. She wasn't even scared. She was just hopeless. Hurt. A little sick, actually. She thought that the pain was over once she'd been adopted. She thought that the violence was gone. But Callie was a beacon for bad luck and for shitty situations and it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that she was wrong. She had to deal with it, though. She had to deal with it if that's what was required to keep Mariana, and ultimately the family, okay.

He slammed the gun handle against the side of her face for the second time that day, and she grimaced, pain radiating in her entire jaw. Then he sent a swift punch to her gut, causing her to double over in pain. While she was hunched over, he kneed her in the gut with as much force as he could muster up and Callie let out a pained grunt, squeezing her eyes shut. She wasn't going to scream, she wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Maybe when he realized that she wasn't going to help him, he'd just stop trying. Maybe he'd come to his senses and give up. Or maybe it'd be too late for him. Maybe the police would be able to get him before that time even came. Either way, she'd take what was necessary in order for him not to hurt Mariana, or anyone else for that matter.

Callie used to be able to block out the pain. To just close her eyes and imagine that she was anywhere else, whether it was a beach or back at her old home with her mom or just anywhere else. She used to be able to block it out, to ignore it. She'd been used to the abuse. But now it was like she couldn't even do that. She felt every blow to her stomach and to her face. She knew when it was fist, knee, or the fucking gun. The pain was excruciating and she just couldn't block it out. She couldn't pretend that she was somewhere else. Maybe that was because she'd gotten so used to feeling safe. To not _having_ to block everything out. She didn't know why, but for some reason she just couldn't turn it all off.

She finally fell to the ground after god knows how many hits and she turned her head to look up at Nick, who was standing above her, the pissed off look in his eyes still lingering.

"Now, are you gonna tell me where the fuck my girlfriend is?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She could see into him. He thought she was going to give, that she was too weak to actually fight any longer. That she was going to tell him where Mariana was. But Nick clearly didn't know Callie very well. He didn't know what she'd been through or how strong she was. He didn't realize that he wouldn't be able to break her with just a couple punches to the jaw or knees to the stomach.

She looked at him, her eyes hard and unmoving, and shook her head, spitting out some blood onto the ground. She wasn't going to give. He could do what he wanted to her. She wasn't going to tell him where her sister was.

Nick's frustration grew and he clenched his fists, tightening the grip on the gun that he held at his side. His body shook with rage and he just stared her down for a few seconds, like he was trying to decide what he was going to do with her. Callie could see it in his eyes that a part of him knew she would never budge, but that didn't seem to shift his determination to find Mariana. Just as Callie would do anything to protect her sister, Nick would do anything to find her. He was on a rampage and there was no convincing him to turn himself in, or to give up.

His foot made contact with her stomach first and Callie sucked in a gasp of air, for some reason not expecting how powerful the kick would be. Had her wrists not been restrained behind her, she probably would've had her arms wrapped around her stomach by now, or covering her face from the blows. She probably would have been fighting back. She probably would have tried to take the gun from him. It was impossible to do, though. It was impossible to protect herself or even to stand up. She was the punching bag for Nick's rage and there was no stopping that.

"You fucking bitch," he hissed, kicking her again, and then again.

Callie's eyes were shut tightly and her teeth were clenched shut as she did everything she could not to cry and not to show him how much pain she was really in. She could handle it. She knew she could.

After a few seconds, he reached down and grabbed her arm, turning her over so that her back was against the floor. He got down onto the floor, then, both of his knees on either side of her and one hand on her right arm as he hovered above her.

Callie couldn't breathe. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, this time unable to cover the panic in her eyes. She could take the punches and the kicks, but this was different. This was too much. He was hovering over her, in total control, and she was under him, unable to fight back. Unable to stop anything. She looked at him and she didn't see Nick anymore. She saw Liam. She saw those fucking amused, evil eyes and she saw the smirk on his face and she saw her own panicked, hopeless, weak reflection in those damned eyes. She felt like she was back in that moment from years before and she wanted to scream, to kick, to _die._ Nick didn't want her body. She'd known that. But now, she wasn't seeing Nick. She wasn't in the school. She was seeing Liam and she was back on that bed, unable to stop what was happening to her.

Something collided with her face. The gun. She knew it was the gun and she tried to shake away the flashbacks that had arrived at exactly the wrong moment. Then something hit the other side of her face. His fist. Nick's fist, not Liam's. She had to remind herself of that. This was Nick, it wasn't Liam. This wasn't the same. She wasn't getting her dignity stolen from her, this was just Nick hitting her. Trying to get the information he wanted. Letting out his anger. This wasn't the same. She wasn't back in that room. She was at school. She wasn't back with Liam. She had to remember that.

There were a few more hits, to her face and to her stomach, and then it stopped. She felt him get up, off of her, and it was like she could finally breathe a little bit. She started to really snap back to it, then, when he was off of her. She saw Nick, then. She saw him stepping back, looking at her and then down at his phone, which was suddenly now in his other hand. He looked back at her after a few seconds, and the look in his eyes confused her somewhat. It was almost like there was some regret there, some sympathy, or guilt. He looked more nervous now, too. And by the way he swallowed the lump in his throat, she could tell that he definitely was. There was still some anger there, but he definitely seemed to be nervous. Guilty even. He glanced down at his phone and let out an unsteady sigh, slipping the phone into his back pocket. He looked down at Callie, then at the door. Then back at Callie, like he was trying to make a decision. Like he was trying to decide whether or not he'd leave the room and just leave her there on the floor. Or maybe he was trying to decide whether or not he'd kill her before leaving.

He let out a bit of a frustrated sigh, then took a step toward her. Callie tensed up, backing up against the wall as much as possible, as if that would actually get her away from him. She didn't want to die. Sure, she knew that she would if she had to, but she didn't _want_ to die.

"Please," she finally breathed out as he started to reach down. She wasn't a beggar. She didn't want to plead for him to let her live. But she was tired, hurt, exhausted, and honestly, she was scared.

"Come on, get up," he grunted, grabbing her arm and tugging her up. She was weak, though, and she had no way to actually get herself up off of the ground very easily with her wrists stilled taped behind her back. He seemed to realize that couldn't get up, though, when she just fell back down after making a feeble attempt, and he looked at her, sliding his gun down into the hem of his pants. He really did seem to look a little sorry. Maybe he was actually starting to realize that what he was doing was wrong. He reached out with both hands, then, and grabbed both of her arms, hoisting her up onto her feet. She swayed back and forth a little bit, unbalanced after how many hits she'd taken to the face, but then she started to regain herself and her awareness of where she was.

"Go on," he muttered under his breath, shoving her in front of him a little bit. She could have tried to take off running. He still hadn't pulled his gun back out. But she knew that would be a death wish. While his anger seemed to have dulled down a bit after he looked at his phone, she knew that by running, she'd set him off again. He'd easily be able to just pull out his weapon and shoot her. She wasn't an idiot.

"Where are we going?" Callie asked, her voice weak as he opened the door and walked out with her. He pulled the gun back out and pressed it against the small of her back once more and all that she could do was let out a silent sigh.

"Mariana finally decided to text me back," he muttered, looking around as they stepped out of the room. "So now I guess I don't need you to tell me where she is anymore."

Callie's hard skipped a beat, out of fear, and she stopped walking, her eyes wide as she turned her head to look at him. "Nick, please, you-"

"Shut up," he sighed, sounding frustrated. He seemed tired, too. Maybe the beating he'd given her had worn him out. "Just shut the hell up."

Callie's breathing was shaky. Maybe that was because she was in an excruciating amount of pain, or maybe it was because she was worried about her sister, but her breathing was uneven. She knew that she couldn't just try to convince him to stop, though. That would probably just get her killed. Maybe she could try to disarm him. Sure, she was restrained, but her hands were behind her back and so was he. So was the gun. Maybe if she could just grab it quickly and get it out of his hands, then she'd be able to end it all. _No,_ she thought to herself. That wouldn't work. He'd be able to pull the trigger before she'd even be able to get it out of his hands. Then she'd end up dead and Nick might still be able to get to Mariana. Maybe, for now, there was just nothing that she could do. They were near the room. That much Callie knew. Mariana's room was just halfway across the hall, and Nick knew that too. They were getting too close.

Callie let out a pained grunt, stopping in her tracks and beginning to double over. Her gut was on fire. Nick pulled on her arm, getting her to stand up straight, and she let out a quiet groan, grimacing. "Please Nick, I-"

"Keep walking," he ordered.

Callie took a few more steps, then stopped again. For the most part, it really was because of the pain that she was in, but that wasn't all. She was stalling, keeping Nick away from Mariana for as long as possible. Sure, it was a long shot, but maybe that would work somehow.

" _Keep walking,"_ he hissed. He seemed to know what she was doing. The pissed off tone was enough to tell her that.

The got to the door to the classroom not long after, and Callie opened her mouth, ready to shout whatever she'd have to shout to let Mariana and anyone else know not to let Nick in. The bastard seemed to know what she was planning on doing before she'd even opened her mouth, though and he cupped the hand that had been on her arm over her mouth.

"Don't try to be a hero," he said under his breath.

"Mariana!" Nick called out, making his voice sound worried. Frightened, even. "Mariana, it's Nick, let me in!"

Callie could here some muffled voices from inside the room, like a few people were arguing -probably about whether or not they should let Nick in. Nobody knew who the shooter was.

"Nick," Callie heard Mariana say as she heard the sound of the door unlocking, "thank God you're okay, I-"

The door opened and as soon as it did, Nick stepped in, pushing the door open all the way and dragging Callie in with him, his hand still over his mouth. He'd brought the gun up to her head, now, likely so that everyone could see that he'd kill her if it were necessary.

Mariana took a step back, Jesus, who had been in the room too, putting a hand out in front of her and ushering her back. Nick shut the door behind him, taking his hand off of Callie's mouth to lock it.

Callie's eyes met Jesus's. He seemed shocked, hurt, and pissed off, too. Her brother looked at Nick, then at her, his eyes showing worry and sympathy in them as well, likely at Callie's appearance. Sure, Callie had no clue what she looked like, but she knew it was probably pretty bad considering the fact that she'd taken a pretty intense beating.

Then she looked to Mariana, who looked even more shocked than Jesus. Heartbroken, even. That made sense, Callie decided, considering that Nick was her boyfriend. There was fear there, too. Genuine fear. And hurt. Betrayal. Confusion. Her eyes met Callie's and her jaw dropped as she looked her sister up and down.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Mariana and Jesus both had their eyes fixed on Nick, who took a few steps toward the twins, his gun pressed hard against the back of Callie's head while his other hand gripped her arm tightly.

"Anyone screams," he spoke coldly, his eyes traveling to the other students in the room before fixing on the twins -specifically Mariana, "anyone does _anything_ smart, and she's dead."

* * *

Okay so this chapter was pretty dark. Sorry about that. But now Nick's with Mariana, and Jesus too, so let's see how it all plays out, shall we?

If you could share your thoughts, I'd be more than grateful. I'll update the next chapter pretty soon too, I promise.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, this chapter is a little bit shorter. But this is the second chapter I've written today, so I guess that's not too bad. I've already got the chapter after this one written for the most part, too, so that will be up soon. Probably later today or tomorrow. Thanks again for all of the reviews you guys. If any of you have any comments, suggestions, or critiques, I'd really really appreciate hearing them. And if anyone has a reason to PM me, go ahead, I'm always open to those too. Anyway, here ya go:**

* * *

Mariana's eyes were fixed on Callie. Her sister had her arms behind her back, likely sporting some sort of restraints on her wrists. The shirt that she'd picked out that morning while complaining to Mariana about Justina was ripped in a few areas and blood covered a decent half of her face. Her nose was bleeding, and there was a gash across the bridge of her nose that confirmed Mariana's thoughts that it might have been broken, and she had a bloody lip. Callie stood there, her mouth hanging slightly open, and Mariana could tell that there was some blood in her mouth as well. The left side of her face seemed to have had it the worst. There was a lot of blood, most of it dried, and even from a good distance away, Mariana could see a gash on Callie's forehead. A trail of dried blood streaked down from the gash to her chin and Mariana didn't even know what to think. There was another deep cut on Callie's cheek that left even more dried blood on the girl's face. The skin around her left eye was already starting to swell up a little bit and it was red, somewhat raw from the recent hits that it had taken. There was a cut on the right side of Callie's face, too, but it wasn't as bad as her left side. She looked exhausted, and her eyes showed clear evidence of the pain that she was in. There was a sense of hopelessness in them, too, which broke Mariana's heart. She didn't know what was going on -especially why Nick of all people was the one to do this- but one thing was obvious to her. Nick had done this. Nick had beaten the shit out of her sister, and now he had a gun to Callie's head.

Mariana looked up at him, unable to hide the hurt that she was feeling. How could he have even done this? How could he hurt Callie? How could he bring a _gun_ to school? Mariana didn't understand the situation at all. How could she? She'd seen Nick less than twenty-four hours ago. He'd texted her shortly after the first gunshot, telling her that he was stuck in the hallway and asking where she was. She'd only been able to respond a few minutes ago, but what the hell was going on? He'd lied to her. That much was clear. He was the one with the gun. That was obvious. But she still couldn't understand it. There was no explanation for any of it.

Jesus was shocked, but more than anything, he was pissed. Callie was in terrible shape, and considering the fact that Nick had a gun to her head and seemingly had her restrained, it was pretty damn obvious that he'd been the one to hurt her. Nick was his friend. But this? This was inexcusable. Jesus didn't know what he was more pissed about: the fact that Nick was the person sending the school into terror, or the fact that Nick had beaten Callie. His sister looked like shit. She was bloody and she looked absolutely exhausted.

"What the _hell_ did you do?" Jesus growled, taking a furious step toward Nick, whose eyes seemed fixed on Mariana.

His friend -former friend- looked over to him. For a moment, he looked sorry, but then he looked back toward Mariana and the guilt was gone. "What I had to do," Nick muttered, scowling at Mariana, who was frozen in her spot.

"Nick!" Jesus yelled, trying to get his attention. He glanced at him, then, still holding the gun at Callie's head. "Why are you doing this?"

Jesus was pissed. If the situation weren't so volatile -if Nick hadn't been holding the gun- he probably would have been screaming. He probably would have lunged at the son-of-a-bitch by now. But Callie was battered and weak and had a gun pressed against her head and as furious as Jesus was, he didn't want to risk her getting hurt anymore. Or Mariana. Or anyone else in the room for that matter.

"Why don't you ask Mariana," Nick sneered, shoving Callie forward as he stepped toward his girlfriend.

Jesus furrowed his brow, looking between his twin and the bastard, confused. She looked just as puzzled as Jesus, and he took a step closer to Mariana. Nick was clearly pissed, and it seemed like he was pissed at Mariana. Jesus wasn't about to let Nick hurt Mariana like he'd hurt Callie.

"Nick," Mariana finally spoke, her voice shaky as she tried to reason with him, "what's going on?"

Nick smirked, then, sending shivers down both Jesus and Mariana's spines. He got closer to the twins, then, and raised his eyebrows. "I saw you and Matt in the garage last night," he scoffed. "That's what's going on."

Mariana's eyes widened and she took a step back, opening her mouth. Nothing came out, though. She didn't know what to say. Jesus just looked at her, confused and worried. As far as he knew, Mariana and Matt had ended things a long time ago.

"Mariana, what is he talking about?" Jesus asked, needing answers. He couldn't understand any of this.

Mariana just kept her eyes on Nick. A few seconds of silence passed by, and Nick continued to step closer and closer toward Mariana.

"I told you I don't like surprises," Nick spoke, his voice now cold and low. "You promised me that you wouldn't surprise me."

The anger flared up in his eyes and Mariana took a breath, knowing that she had to at least try to explain it all to him. He had everything wrong. He was wrong. _All of this_ was wrong.

"Nick, whatever you saw," she started, "it's not what it-"

" _Whatever I saw?"_ Nick burst out, his laugh filled with malice. "I know what I saw, Mariana. And don't even try telling me that it's 'not what I think.' I know _damn well_ what it was. You promised me, Mariana," he continued. He suddenly aimed the gun at her, then, but kept a firm grip on Callie's arm. "You _promised_ me that you wouldn't surprise me. And now that you broke that promise, you're gonna pay for it." He glanced at Callie, then, and wrapped his arm around her stomach, pulling her against him. He turned the gun away from Mariana, bringing it up so that it was pressed under Callie's chin. "And if _she's_ has to be a part of how you pay for it," he growled, "then so be it."

Callie's eyes were wet with tears, then. She was forced tilt her face toward the ceiling when he'd brought the gun underneath her chin and, especially given her injuries, she appeared to be incredibly uncomfortable in the situation. Nick held her flush against him, and given Callie's past, it was clear that the position she was in made her uncomfortable and scared and hurt. Pain was written all over her face and in her eyes, too, likely from how tightly he was holding her. Nick didn't even seem to care about that, though. It was like all that he was focused on was hurting Mariana, and ultimately hurting Callie.

Mariana's breathe caught in her throat as she looked at Callie, whose eyes were fixed on her sister. As hurt as Callie looked, there was a determined look of strength in her eyes, too. The way she was looking at Mariana, it was almost like she was trying to tell her that she was okay. That no matter what happened, she was okay. That this wasn't Mariana's fault, and that she wanted Mariana to just be careful not to get herself hurt.

"Nick, _let her go,"_ Jesus said, pissed and overwhelmed by how nervous he was. "Now."

Nick looked to Jesus, an almost apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jesus," he replied, shaking his head. "You're my best friend, and I can't thank you enough for what a great friend you are, but I can't. _This_ is something that I have to do, and I'm sorry."

"Nick," Jesus tried, his heart beating faster and harder than ever before. "Come on, man, you don't have to do this, okay? Just put the damn gun down and let her go."

Jesus took a step forward and Nick shoved the gun harder against the underside of Callie's chin, tightening his hold on her and causing her to wince in pain. She looked at her brother, then, as best as she could.

"Jesus, don't," Callie spoke up, her voice hoarse and choked, partially due to the force of the gun.

She shook her head lightly, closing her eyes and letting out a quiet sigh. There was nothing that he could do to protect her, and she didn't want him to get hurt. If this was how things had to go, then it was how things had to go. Maybe Nick would shoot. Maybe he'd kill her. But then, at least if he were to do so, the SWAT team that was no doubt surrounding the school would storm in and they'd get Nick, hopefully, before he could do much more harm to anyone else.

Her brother furrowed his brow, looking at Callie with a mix of confusion and sympathy. He took a step back, gritting his teeth and giving her a small nod. He was starting to understand just how serious the situation was. He wasn't going to be able to just convince Nick to stop. And considering the fact that Callie was the injured one being held at gun point, her telling Jesus not to try to help her was enough to make him listen.

"Nick, _please,"_ Jesus tried once more, his voice less forceful this time. "You don't have to do this."

"Don't tell me what I do and don't have to do, Jesus," he replied, leering at Jesus. "You're not a part of this." He looked to Mariana, his eyes growing cold once more. "You are, though."

Mariana was doing everything in her power not to let any tears fall. Not to show Nick just how scared she was. Maybe she could talk him down. Maybe she could explain.

"Nick, please let me explain," she spoke, taking a step toward Nick. " _Please."_

Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head lightly. "Yeah. Yeah Mariana. Go ahead. _Explain."_

"You saw us kiss," Mariana said.

It was a statement, not a question. Nick hadn't yet said _what_ he'd seen, but if it was enough to piss him off this much, then there wasn't a doubt in Mariana's mind that that was what he'd seen. Jesus's eyes widened slightly as he looked to his twin, but he said nothing.

Nick nodded, looking a bit more angry. Mariana continued, though, hoping that she'd be able to defuse the situation. "Nick, Matt left a note in my bag during R and J," she tried. "He was trying to tell me that he still loved me. I think his girlfriend took it, because I never got it. Matt just came over last night because he wanted to talk. To _tell_ me that he still loved me. I- I told him that I love you, though, Nick. I told him that I couldn't be with him."

Nick smirked wickedly, shaking his head and holding Callie even more tightly against him, most likely out of anger more than anything. She winced once more, letting out a shaky breath. "Yeah," he scoffed. "That _totally_ explains why you two were _kissing_ when I saw you."

"It was a _goodbye kiss,"_ Mariana tried to explain, running a hand through her hair nervously. "Nick, I love _you,_ okay? _You._ Not Matt. It was just a goodbye kiss, I-"

He laughed then, tilting his head back. "Yeah right," he interrupted. "Who the hell _kisses goodbye,_ Mariana?" He screamed, his eyes letting up with rage, his grin now replaced by a furious glare.

His grip on the gun tightened and he shoved it even harder against Callie, causing her to let out a quiet whimper from the pain and from fear. Her breathing was getting heavier and it wasn't hard to guess why. The gun was probably pushing against her windpipe, which made it harder to breathe. Mariana didn't know what to do. It was all her fault. If she hadn't kissed Matt, if she had just _said_ goodbye, then none of this would have been happening. Then the school wouldn't be on lock down. People wouldn't be hurt. Callie wouldn't be in the shape she was in and she wouldn't have a gun pushed against her. All of this was her fault.

Tears finally started to roll down her cheeks and she could hardly fight off the sobs. "Nick, I swear, it was a goodbye kiss," she tried to convince him. "I don't know why, okay? I don't know why _that_ was how we decided to say goodbye, but Nick, I swear I am telling the truth. I wouldn't cheat on you, I _wouldn't._ I just, I-"

Jesus grabbed his sister's hand, hoping that maybe it would help her calm down, help her breathe. He gave Nick a cold look. This was all Nick's fault. Nick had shot his gun twice, hurting god-knows who. He had beaten Callie. He had gotten the school locked down. He had made his twin as upset as she was. That bastard was dead to him.

"Nick, she is telling the _truth,"_ Jesus snarled. "Now let Callie go. She hasn't done _anything_ to you."

Tears were falling from Callie's eyes, too. She didn't make a sound, though. She didn't look at anyone. She just kept her eyes shut and clenched her jaw, trying to stop her lip from quivering. Jesus couldn't even imagine the pain that she was in. Or how scared she probably was. Or how uncomfortable she was with Nick holding her so tightly against him.

"Fuck you," Nick spat. He pushed against her chest with the arm that was holding the gun, pulling her even more tightly against him, and his head was just above her left shoulder. His arms were shaking from how tightly he was holding her against him and from how pissed off he was. "This bitch is dead. _Then,"_ he growled, glaring at Mariana now, "maybe you'll know how I feel."

* * *

 **Heya. Okay so there's this chapter. I wanted to have this more so focusing on the twins' thoughts and actions. There's gonna be more of them to come, too. One of you mentioned that you'd like to see this a little less centered on Callie, and I'm definitely going to work on that too. She definitely is the main character of this story, but this is largely a family-centric story, so as the story progresses, this will _definitely_ have a lot of focus on the other kids, and on the moms as well (mostly Stef if I'm being honest). There will be a lot of Mariana in this story as well. Hopefully that's alright with most of you. **

**Anyway, I'm open to any comments, critiques, and suggestions that you have, so feel free to drop in a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. I'll have the next chapter up before tomorrow night by the way! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Callie let out a shaky breath. She didn't even open her eyes. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, stinging the cuts and what would eventually be bruises. She wanted to stay strong. She wanted to protect her siblings. But now she didn't even know if she could do that. Now she didn't even know if she'd be able to help anyone. Her hands were taped behind her back and she was losing feeling in them. They were cold, tingly even. She was useless. She couldn't do anything. Plus, even if she weren't restrained, she had a gun pushed against the underside of her chin and she was beaten and physically drained. She was weaker than she'd ever been in that moment, emotionally and physically, and she didn't think that there was anything she could _really_ do to help anyone. Not even Mariana. Nick had just flat out told the twins that he would kill her, and Callie couldn't even fight back. She couldn't even try to get away from him. Standing was a difficult enough task on its own, but _resisting him,_ while she was restrained and while there was a gun pointed at her? That was impossible.

She was tense. She was in pain. She was scared. She was hopeless. She was uncomfortable. Nick's grip on her made it impossible for her to even move at all. Maybe it was just from how pissed he was, or maybe it was because he knew it would worry the twins more, but he'd pulled Callie flush against him. One arm was wrapped around her stomach, holding her tightly so that she couldn't get away, and the other one was, for the most part, across her chest as he held the gun up so that the barrel touched the skin of the underside of her chin. Her back was pressed tightly against him and she wanted to pull herself out of his grip, to get away from him, but she couldn't. Callie, in general, wasn't a huge fan of physical contact with people unless she knew them well enough. Sure, with the family, it wasn't an issue. With AJ, it wasn't an issue. But with people she didn't know very well, even hugs that lasted a couple seconds too long weren't something that she was entirely comfortable with. It made her uncomfortable. It made her feel stuck. It made her feel like she didn't have control. She hated it. She just wanted to pull away from him, to feel in control. She couldn't even move, though. She was too weak and too scared and his hold on her was just too damn tight.

"Nick, please, just let her go, man," Callie heard Jesus ask one more time, his voice sad, like he had hardly any hope left that she'd even end up alive after all of this. "She's my sister. You're supposed to be my friend. You can't do this."

Nick scoffed. "You and I both know that after what I've already done, we're not friends. And if she's your sister, then that makes her Mariana's sister too." He paused for a few seconds then, and Callie took in a shallow breath. "I lost you when I saw you kissing Matt, Mariana," Nick said, taking a step and carrying Callie forward with him. "Now _you're_ gonna learn what it's like to lose someone you love."

Callie didn't even open her eyes. She was just waiting. Waiting for him to pull the trigger. Waiting for him to end it. Waiting for him to act out of anger once more. Waiting for him to kill her.

He stepped back, then, and sent a swift kick to the back of her right leg, just behind the knee, and she fell to the floor, her eyes opening wide at the impact. It hurt her stomach worse and she wished that her damn hands weren't taped behind her back, because at least _then_ she'd be able to hold her arms around her aching stomach. She'd fallen onto her knees and there was a firm hand on her shoulder, keeping her in her place. She looked to Mariana who had tears in her eyes and who looked horrified, then to Jesus, whose expression was pretty much the same. She couldn't tell exactly why they looked how they looked at first, but as soon as Callie turned her head to look to where Nick was standing, she understood.

Nick had the gun aimed at her head, a set look on his face. The gun was less than an inch away from her face and her jaw dropped slightly as she didn't know how to respond. She was literally looking down the barrel of the gun that was going to take her life from her. He wasn't just going to kill her. He wasn't just trying to make Mariana feel his pain. He was going to kill her -execution style- directly in front of her brother and sister. They were going to have to live with that image in their heads for the rest of their lives, and Nick knew that. Callie wasn't even going to have a 'rest of her life.'

"Nick," Mariana's voice pierced the silence that had settled. "Nick, _look at me_."

"I love you, Nick," Mariana tried. Callie swallowed nervously. Maybe Mariana would get somewhere. Maybe she'd actually manage to talk Nick down. Or maybe she was just putting herself in more danger, too. "Okay? I love you. Now please, just put down the gun. We can talk about this. We can work this out. You're upset, Nick. You saw me kissing Matt, and even if it was a goodbye kiss, you still saw me kiss him. And that's not fair to you. But we'll work it out. We'll be okay. Now please, Nick, just _put the gun down."_

Callie was surprised when his grip on her shoulder loosened slightly. Maybe Mariana was actually getting to him. He didn't move the gun away from her, but he'd relaxed somewhat. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she was getting somewhere.

Nick let out a frustrated sigh. "I saw you two, Mariana," he muttered. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have kissed him in the first place."

While Nick's attention was, for the most part, aimed toward Mariana, Jesus sent Callie a look. It was almost hopeful, and she was confused. Then he glanced down to his hand, which was in his pocket, and lifted out his phone. Callie closed her eyes, somewhat relieved but not quite hopeful, when she read what was on the screen for the two seconds that it was out of his pocket. Stef was on the line. Jesus must have called her not too long ago. She'd been on the line for three minutes, which meant that, if she was in the school, she was probably nearing them at that exact time. Jesus slid the phone back into his pocket, shot Callie a small one of his signature grins while Nick wasn't looking, and she couldn't help but give him a small smile back, closing her eyes again as a few tears fell down her cheeks. She straightened her expression a second later, though, remembering that not everything was necessarily 'okay' in that moment. Nick still had the gun aimed at her head. There was no changing that. Not yet, at least.

"Nick," Mariana continued, still trying to convince him. "If I didn't love you, then why would I still be wearing your necklace? Look at me, Nick. Look at me. I am wearing the necklace that _you_ gave me. I love you. Matt isn't going to change that. _Nothing_ is going to change that, but Nick, if you -if you hurt Callie- then the police are just going to storm in here. And they are going to shoot _you,_ and they are going to _kill you._ And then, and then we won't be able to be together anymore, Nick. Okay? Please, just put the gun down. Let all of this be over. Okay?"

Matt's hand was shaking slightly, almost like he was growing more nervous. Like he was starting to change his mind. It really seemed like Mariana was talking him down. Like everything would end up alright. Maybe it would. Maybe everything would be okay.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Nick questioned after a few seconds, his voice sounding more like he was sad, and worried, and frustrated, rather than as pissed and reckless as it had been previously.

"Because I _love_ you, Nick," Mariana responded, her voice soft. "Because I _need_ you. Okay? So please, Nick, don't do this. You do this, and they will _kill_ you. Please... don't leave me."

Callie was flooded with relief when, out of her peripheral vision, she could see that Nick had moved the gun away from her head. He let go of her shoulder, too, and she looked to Jesus, hoping that his reaction would let her know whether it was safe or not for her to turn around. Her brother looked relieved after a moment. She looked over her shoulder to see Nick running his hands through his hair, the gun still in his hand, as he started to pace back and forth. Callie looked back to her siblings. Mariana was stuck in her spot, looking at Nick, her expression still nervous. Jesus, though, had his attention on Callie. He stepped forward, reaching out a hand for her to grab, and when Callie let out a sad, and almost embarrassed sigh, realization sparked in her brother's eyes and he looked at her apologetically. Obviously she couldn't take his hand. Her own hands were still taped behind her back.

Jesus looked up cautiously, checking to make sure that Nick wasn't suddenly going to lash out again, and then he took the last few remaining steps toward Callie. "Come on," he spoke, his voice quiet and gentle as he slid his arms under hers, helping her up while being careful not to hurt her any worse. "You're okay," he said softly,keeping one arm around her back to help keep her up as they walked back towards the wall, closer to where Mariana was.

Callie let out a shaky breath, finally feeling safer now that she was with her brother. Sure, her and Jesus had never been very close, but in that moment that didn't matter. He was her brother, and he was there for her, and he'd helped her. He said something to Mariana that Callie couldn't quite make out, as her head was spinning from moving around, and then he stepped back, his hands falling down to her wrists. Callie, unwillingly beginning to give into the exhaustion, felt her eyelids beginning to droop shut and she didn't even react to Jesus helping her with the tape on her wrists. She did glance over to Nick, though. He was still pacing back and forth, muttering something under his breath. He still had the gun. He was still a danger to everyone in the room, but it seemed like things were beginning to look up. Maybe they'd all be okay.

"You're okay Callie," Jesus spoke quietly once more as he worked on getting the tape off of her wrists.

Nick had wrapped it around her wrists a fair amount of times so that it was too thick for Jesus to just rip it off, so he had to resort to actually taking the time to unravel it entirely. He swallowed nervously when he realized how cold Callie's hands were. They were somewhat discolored, took. He wasn't sure how long she'd been restrained for, but he figured it had definitely been long enough if the blood flow had been cut off that badly. The tape was wound tightly around her wrists, too. It probably hurt like hell. As he worked up pulling it all off of her wrists, his gaze shifted to his former-friend. He wasn't sure how long Nick's attention would be away from them, and he wanted to help Callie as quickly as possible, just in case the bastard were to get pissed again. Jesus bit his lip when he looked back down to Callie's wrists once half of the tape was off. There were dark red marks on the upper half of one of her arms, the marks resembling finger holds, probably from when Nick was leading Callie around. Jesus could imagine that they'd soon be bruises. Given Callie's current condition, there were sure to be lots of bruises.

"Almost there," he breathed, rushing as gently as possible to get the tape completely off.

Once her wrists were completely free, he dropped the small wad of electrical tape onto the ground, sending Nick a quick glare before placing a hand on Callie's shoulder.

"It's okay now," he told her. She just looked at him, her eyes filled with gratitude, even in the mix of pain, hurt, fear, and exhaustion that was there. He didn't need a thank-you. That said enough, and he gave her a small, sad smile, hating the state that he was in.

Callie closed her eyes, then, taking in a breath to try to calm herself down. Her heart was still racing and her nerves were still on edge and the excruciating pain hadn't died down one pit. At least she could feel her hands now, though.

She grimaced after a moment, her head throbbing, and she raised a hand to her forehead, the pain horrible. She stumbled backwards and felt hands catch her before she could fall. Jesus said something, his tone worried, and then eased her down onto the ground, being as careful as possible not to hurt her any worse than she'd already been hurt. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open. Jesus was crouched down next to her, a hand on her shoulder, and the worry was evident in his eyes. Mariana was looking at her too, now, concern etched on her face. She said something, but Callie couldn't make out whatever it was. She was too dizzy. God, her head hurt.

"Callie," Jesus urged when Callie's eyes drifted shut again. He let out a frustrated sigh, looking back to Nick, who seemed for the most part oblivious to what was going on. "Come on, Callie, open your eyes. You gotta stay awake."

She didn't seem to be connecting with what he was saying. Her eyes opened weakly for a moment, and she made eye contact with him, opening her mouth like she was going to speak, but then she closed her eyes again. It was clear that she was exhausted. It was clear that she was hurt. But she couldn't lose consciousness. That was _not_ okay.

"Nick," Mariana called out. Nothing. "Nick," she tried again. Finally, he looked over to where she and Jesus were trying to keep Callie awake. "Nick she needs to see a doctor," Mariana pleaded. "Please."

He shook his head, his eyes nervous and his eyes filled with fear and worry and pain. "It's too late," he replied, shaking his head even harder. He ran his hand -the one with the gun in it- through his hair and let out a shaky breath. "It's too late, Mariana."

" _No,"_ Mariana corrected him. "No it isn't. Listen, Nick. You can do the right thing, here. It's not too late to do the right thing. To end all of this. Okay? You just need to let us get Callie out of here. It'll be okay. _You_ will be okay."

"No," he insisted, his eyes widening as he suddenly pointed the gun at his chest. "No, Mariana, I mean it's _too late._ I- I shot her. I- I didn't mean to, I just, she was yelling and she came toward me and I freaked out and I-" he stopped, his voice cracking. "I _shot_ her, Mariana." His eyes were filled with tears, and a few fell down his face.

Jesus and Mariana both looked at each other, wide-eyed. Was he talking about Callie? Had he shot Callie? It didn't look like it. She was bleeding, yeah, but it didn't seem like she'd had a bullet wound anywhere unless it had miraculously healed itself within the hour.

"Nick," Mariana urged, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible, "what are you talking about? What happened?"

"Angela," Callie muttered, her eyes still shut.

Her speech wasn't entirely clear, but she seemed conscious of whatever she was trying to say. Jesus, Mariana, and Nick all looked at her, confused, and Callie just continued, trying to clarify it all for them, even though she was still close to drifting off. She'd managed to hear and understand Nick talking about shooting someone, and Callie had made a guess. Thankfully, it had been an accurate guess.

"What?" Mariana asked, confused.

"Angela," Callie muttered again, opening her eyes weakly to look at her sister. "She tried talking to him but he-" she glanced to Nick, turning her head slightly despite how much it throbbed to do so. "He shot her."

Nick kicked a desk, letting out a frustrated shout. "Dammit!" he cursed. He brought the gun back to his chest. "I- I can't Mariana. It's too late, I shot her and she's gonna die, and I can't take that back, I didn't mean to do it, but I can't take it away, and I-"

"No," Callie interrupted, raising her voice as much as possible. "She's gonna be okay," Callie tried to explain. "The bullet hit her shoulder. She should be fine. I wrapped it up."

Jesus and Mariana both looked at Callie, surprised and confused, obviously not knowing what had happened. How as anyone supposed to know what had happened? It was by sheer luck that Callie had been able to help Angela, and that she knew all of this. Nick looked at her with look of confusion and doubt in his eyes.

"She's gonna be okay?" he asked, nervous but seeming just slightly relieved. "She'll be okay, she'll-"

Callie just nodded, cutting him off. In reality, no. She wasn't going to 'be okay.' She was going to have to live with the memory of getting shot, as a freshman, and she was going to be in a lot of pain for a while most likely. She wasn't going to be okay. Sure, she wasn't going to die from the gunshot wound, but she wasn't going to be perfectly fine. Callie wasn't going to tell that to Nick, though. The less he knew about that, the better.

"See Nick," Mariana tried again. "You can just put down the gun. You can walk out of here, and it'll be okay. Alright?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head. He lifted the gun to his head, looking Mariana dead in the eyes. "No I can't. Mariana, I screwed up. I brought a _gun_ into _school._ I shot a _kid,_ Mariana! And I- I did _this_ to your sister. I screwed up. It's not gonna be okay."

"Nick, please, I-"

"Mariana _stop,"_ he cut her off, his voice shaking. He was beginning to cry, clearly in a lot of emotional pain that neither Callie nor Jesus cared about in that moment. "I'm either gonna step out there and get a bullet sent straight through my head, or I'm gonna step out there and have my ass hauled off to jail. We _both_ know that. I can't do that, Mariana. I _can't."_

"Nick, please," Mariana begged.

As pissed as she was, and as much as she hated him for what he'd done -especially for what he'd done to Callie- she didn't want to see him die. She didn't want to see him kill himself. A large part of her wanted him to rot in jail, but the other part of her knew that he didn't actually _want_ any of this. He just had no emotional intelligence what-so-ever, and he was rash, and while that was no excuse, it didn't mean that he deserved to die.

"I'm sorry, Mariana," he replied, shaking his head as he held the gun against his temple. "I can't. I'm gonna be known by the world as the guy who shot up Anchor Beach. I go to jail, and I'm gonna end up getting killed by other inmates. Either way, I'm dead. Either way, people know me as a monster. I don't have anything else left."

He began to move his finger toward the trigger, his eyes fixed on Mariana's, who was watching him fearfully, and a loud, sudden noise erupted in the room.

* * *

 **Okay so now this chapter's done. I really wanted to include the Callie/Jesus part. Callie and Jesus have hardly had any scenes together, at all, and a large part of that was actually because of Jake T. Austin's presence in the show. Now that he's gone, I wouldn't be surprised to see more scenes with the siblings. Anyway, yeah, I wanted to include the Callie and Jesus. There'll probably be some more of that, too, later in the story. But yep, that's this chapter done. The next one should be done soon.**

 **If you could leave a review with any thoughts, critique, or suggestions, I'd be more than appreciative.**

 **Have a good day everyone**


	10. Chapter 10

Stef felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and although she knew that it was dangerous to get distracted, she also knew that it could be Lena, or one of the kids, calling her. If someone in her family was hurt, she needed to know. She needed to keep her children and her wife, along with everyone else in that building, safe. When she saw Jesus's name, her chest tightened up slightly. She didn't want to believe that anyone in her family could be hurt, but it was a possibility. Mike had informed her over the radio a few minutes beforehand that Nick was the shooter. At least that was what Brandon told him. Stef didn't even know how Brandon knew this.

"Jesus, Love, are you okay?" Stef asked quietly, answering the phone as she looked down the hallway. He didn't answer, though. "Jesus?"

"Just let her go, man," Jesus's voice finally came through. Instantly, Stef knew that something was wrong, and a sick feeling settled in her stomach. "She's my sister. You're supposed to me my friend. You can't do this."

Stef's mind was racing. She knew that Jesus and Mariana were together, because she'd had Brandon text her where everyone was. But, considering what Jesus was saying, it sounded like Nick was threatening Mariana, like he was going to hurt her. That was the only thing that really made sense in that moment. Actually, it didn't make sense. Everything was a mess. Stef had to try to think clearly, though. She had to try to be smart. She knew where Jesus and Mariana were, so she knew where Nick was.

Stef pushed the button on her radio, then, communicating with the other officers around the building. She knew that there was a SWAT team out there too. Mike had tried to get her to come outside, for safety reasons, but she'd refused, and he'd understood.

"Mike, I know where Nick is," Stef spoke into her radio, trying to keep her voice steady. "I think he has Jesus and Mariana."

"Stef," Mike replied almost immediately, "wait for back-up, okay? Tell me where you are, and the SWAT team will be on their way in. Do _not_ go in alone, do you hear me?"

Stef was between listening to what Mike was saying and to what was being said on the other side of her phone call with Jesus. She'd missed a small snippet of the conversation while she'd been radioing in, but now it had her full attention. She could hear Mariana's voice, although it was distant. She was talking to Nick, trying to convince him that she still loved him. That some kiss she'd shared with Matt -that would be a conversation for a more appropriate time- was just a goodbye kiss. About two minutes went by, Mariana still trying to convince Nick that he should just put the gun down. Stef let out an impatient sigh, wishing that the SWAT team would get there more quickly. She knew for a fact that she couldn't storm into that room by herself. That would endanger Jesus, Mariana, and other students.

Stef felt her heart drop when Mariana said something that she'd least expected to hear. "If you hurt Callie, then the police are just going to storm in here-" Callie was in there with them. Nick was planning on hurting Callie. Callie must have beeen the person that Jesus had been referring to when he'd said his sister was there. But why the hell was Callie there? Why was Nick going to hurt her?

"Mike he has _Callie,"_ Stef said, her worries only growing. "Where is the _damn_ SWAT team?"

As if on cue, the team finally reached her, and she led them to the classroom, which was about a minute away from where she was. Every second felt like an eternity, and for the most part, everything that was being said on the phone was blocked out. Most of it hadn't been clear in the first place, but now Stef was just focused on getting her kids out -on ending all of this. Three of her children were in danger, and she didn't know why. She didn't know what was going on. When they were finally at the room, Stef stepped back, allowing the SWAT team to do what they knew to do. She stood outside the door, ready to follow them in. She needed to get to her kids.

They busted down the door, and for the most part, all of the officers were shouting, ordering Nick to get down on the ground. When Stef knew that it was safe for her to enter a few seconds later, she didn't hesitate. She slid her gun into its holster, glancing down to where Nick was kneeling on the ground, sobbing. She felt no sympathy for him. She didn't care. He'd threatened her children, and that was enough to make her hate him. The gun was lying on the ground and while some officers were holding him down and cuffing him, others were escorting the kids in the classroom out. An officer radioed in that the subject was down. Everything was a blur.

Stef's eyes darted to the opposite wall, where she could see the twins. Jesus was kneeling on the ground, and Mariana just stood there, looking towards Nick with a face filled with anger and betrayal and hurt and fear. Her daughter looked to her, and Stef stepped forward, opening her arms to embrace her daughter. Mariana's eyes just widened, though, and her jaw dropped slightly, the worry in her eyes even deeper. Confused, Stef furrowed her brow, looking to Jesus, then. When she saw the sight before her, her lungs stopped working and she froze in her spot.

Jesus was kneeling in front of Callie, who was sitting on the ground, her back against the wall. Stef didn't even know how to react, or what to think. She hadn't even seen Callie when she'd walked through the door. Blood dribbled from her barely-open mouth, and the girl didn't even seem to notice Stef. Her eyes were drooping shut, one of them begging to swell up slightly already. The left side of her face was red and raw, unnecessarily scratched up, bloody, and beaten. Fresh blood was slowly dripping from a gash on her forehead, falling over dried blood on her face. There was another laceration on her cheek, and there was a trail of dried blood beneath it that reached her jawline. Callie's lip was bloody, too. There was a thin red line of blood on the bridge of her nose, and dried blood from her broken nose had reached all the way down to the girl's chin. There were a couple minor scrapes on the right side of her face, too, along with a deeper cut. Callie had one arm draped loosely over her stomach, and she used the other one to barely hold herself up. There were fairly deep, red indentations on her wrists, and Stef felt her heart sink even further to the floor.

It didn't make sense why Callie had taken a beating. Callie and Nick had barely even ever spoken to each other, and now she'd been used as a fucking punching bag for the sick son of a bitch who was getting his ass hauled out of the room. Callie didn't deserve this. No one did, aside from Nick. But why _Callie_ of all people? There wasn't even an explanation that Stef could think of. Callie had never done anything to Nick. Why the hell would he even do this?

Stef immediately rushed to her daughter's side, her eyes wide and worried although she tried to appear as calm as possible, for her children's sake. She didn't want to worry Jesus or Mariana anymore than they already had been worried, and she sure as hell didn't want to make Callie worry anymore than necessary about the state that she was in.

"Callie," she breathed, kneeling down next to her.

Callie's eyes suddenly widened, then, as she saw Stef at her side. Her eyes were filled with relief, but also with a heavy type of sorrow that they shouldn't have even had to hold. "Mom," she breathed out, her voice betraying her slightly as she tried to sit more upright.

"Shh, take it easy my love," Stef breathed, wrapping her arms around Callie as gently as possible.

Callie buried her face into Stef's shoulder, letting out the unsteady, emotion-filled breath that she'd been holding for what felt like hours now. She gripped the fabric of Stef's uniform in her fists and the tears came pouring from her eyes as she let out a sudden sob that even she hadn't seen coming.

Jesus stood up, shuffling backward somewhat awkwardly, like he didn't know quite what to do in that moment. Mariana had moved next to her brother, her arms folded across her chest, like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. Her own eyes were filled with tears that she didn't want to shed, and Stef looked up at the twins.

"Jesus," Stef spoke quietly, not moving out of respect and concern for Callie. "Mama and Brandon are both in her office. Jude should be in his math room. Go on," she whispered, giving him a small nod to let him know that he could leave. As much as it hurt Stef that she couldn't be there for him, too, in that moment, she knew that he needed to be with the family.

Jesus nodded, catching onto what Stef was saying. He'd go get Jude, then they'd both go to Lena's office. Honestly, he was grateful for that. He felt almost like a bit of an intruder in the moment that Stef and Callie were sharing. Callie was hurt and vulnerable, and she needed Stef. She deserved her privacy. He started to take a step backward, then Stef slightly reached out a hand that she had wrapped around Callie, giving him a small nod. He reached out and she grabbed his hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

"I love you," she said, looking him in the eyes sadly but still affectionately. She'd been so worried, so worried that Nick was going to hurt Jesus or Mariana. She was beyond grateful that no one else had been hurt.

"I love you too, Mom," Jesus nodded, giving her a small, sad smile as he stepped back and began to leave the room.

He looked back, expecting Mariana to follow, which she did, until Stef quietly called out her name.

"You can stay, Mariana," she said softly. Mariana's head was clearly a mess, and she was clearly hurting, and Stef didn't want Mariana to feel that she wasn't welcome to stay. Sure, Callie's physical state was much worse than Mariana's, but Mariana had just had her life threatened by her boyfriend. Stef didn't know exactly what had happened, so as far as she knew, Mariana might have had to watch Nick beat Callie. Either way, Mariana was a priority, too.

"No," her daughter replied, offering her mother a weak smile that clearly wasn't one to display any kind of happiness. It was one that showed more understanding than anything else. "I'll go with Jesus."

Stef let out a soft, quiet sigh laced with sadness as Mariana looked at Callie, her eyes filled with tears and concern. The twins left together a few seconds later, Jesus putting his arm protectively around Mariana as they headed toward where Jude should have been. Stef just pressed a soft kiss to the side of Callie's head, closing her own teary eyes.

"You're okay love," she breathed, although she didn't even quite believe herself. "You're okay. I've got ya."

That was when the crying really started. Callie's body shook and she let out the most pain-laced, sorrow-filled sobs that Stef had ever heard, which broke the mother's heart. This wasn't right. None of it was right. Callie gripped the back of Stef's shirt even harder and Stef held her daughter a little more tightly, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks as well, now. She let out a shaky breath, whispering small reassurances to Callie as the battered teen sobbed in her arms. Callie sucked in a deep breath, her sobs inconsistent and loud and heavy, and then let it out, bawling into Stef's shoulder. The convulsive gasps and loud, raw cries shattered Stef's heart. She'd seen Callie cry, before. She'd seen her hurt. She'd seen her angry, and upset, and vulnerable, and she'd held her in her arms, but this? This was far more extreme than anything Stef had ever been a part of. She'd never seen her daughter this hurt, and she'd never wanted to. It wasn't fair. Callie didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve anything that had ever happened to her. It just wasn't right.

The minutes passed by, and Callie's sobs had finally died down to sniffles and whimpers, and the tight hold that she had on Stef had weakened significantly. Her arms were still wrapped over her mother's shoulders, and her face was still resting on Stef's now tear-soaked shoulder, but she seemed to have gotten most of the cries out of her system. She was really starting to tire out, now, and Stef let out a quiet sigh, gently rubbing her hand up and down Callie's back in an attempt to soothe her. Stef really wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but it seemed like it had been a while. There were no longer students walking quickly through the hallway to get out of the school. As much as Stef didn't want to make her daughter get up, and as much as she didn't want to make Callie do anything she didn't want to do, she knew that it was about time that they left the room. Callie was injured. There really was no way to see how badly she'd been hurt, but Stef wanted to get her to the hospital to get her checked. The gash on her forehead definitely needed attention, and Stef didn't know what else the girl had been subject to, or how extensive the injuries were. For Callie's safety and for Stef's reassurance of her daughters safety, it was important for her to go to the hospital.

"Callie, love," Stef whispered after a few more minutes of silence, finally deciding that it was time for her to get up. She pulled away slightly, looking her daughter in the eyes. Callie just looked back at her, sniffling, and gave a small nod, letting her mother know that she was listening. "Can you stand?" Stef spoke gently, looking at her sadly but also with more love than a heart can hold.

Callie swallowed nervously, biting her top lip, which thankfully wasn't swollen, and tried to stand. Any movement hurt her stomach, though, and her leg was hurting, too. She assumed that it had been from when she hit into the table in the copying room. Her leg was probably the least pressing of her injuries, though. She could deal with that. The pain that shot through her stomach, though, caused her to grimace and she fell slightly back to the ground. Stef had caught her, though, and looked at her with an understanding sort of sympathy. She looped her own arm under Callie's, keeping it against her daughter's back to offer her physical, and emotional, support.

"You can do it," Stef whispered, looking her daughter reassuringly in the eyes. "I've got you, Cal."

Callie just took in a shaky breath, then tried once more. She winced as she really started to stand up. Even with Stef helping her -which really did help a lot- it was painful and it was difficult. Her stomach was killing her, and she was tired, and weak, and hurt, and shaking. Standing took more effort than she even thought she had in her, and she let out a small, pained and sorrowful whimper as she finally got to her feet, even though Stef was the one carrying most of her weight.

"There you go, that's it, love," Stef tried to reassure her. "You've got it."

Every step was a challenge, and Callie couldn't help but groan in pure pain after just fifteen seconds or so of walking slowly.

Stef couldn't help but grow even more concerned by how much pain Callie seemed to be in while just walking. It was alarming in the least. She shouldn't have been in so much pain. Something was seriously wrong. She tried to keep her own heartbeat steady, but it was hard. She couldn't rid herself of the feeling that Callie's injuries were much worse than she'd first worried about, and she didn't know how much time would be too much. At the pace that they were walking at, it would take a good couple of minutes to get Callie outside to Stef's car. Even if they'd opted for one of the ambulances outside, they'd have to walk a decent distance through the school, and Stef didn't know if Callie would even be able to make it there given the amount of pain that she appeared to be in.

"Shh," Stef breathed, stopping so that Callie could have a brief moment to rest. "I know it hurts, love. I'm sorry."

Callie just let out a quiet cry, resting her head against Stef's shoulder as she tried to take another step. It hurt so damn much. It hadn't been this bad shortly beforehand, when Nick had been walking her through the hallway, but now it was worse. Now, her stomach was burning and throbbing both at the same time. Callie had been hurt countless times before. She knew pain. But this was something she didn't know if she'd ever felt before.

Stef suddenly felt the hopelessness rising in her chest. This was bad. Callie needed to get to the hospital, and she needed to get there _now._ But she didn't even know how to get her daughter out of the school without her getting hurt worse.

As if by some miracle, Stef heard a voice ring out behind her.

"Stef," Mike called from across the hallway.

She turned her head to see her ex-husband jogging lightly toward the two, and she let out a heavy sigh of relief. Mike could help. "Mike," she exhaled, closing her eyes slightly. He got to the two and as much as he tried to cover it, Stef could see the shock in his eyes when he saw Callie's state. "Come on, get on the other side of her," Stef said quietly, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible so as not to frighten Callie. "We need to get her to an ambulance, _now,_ " she said under her breath.

Mike furrowed his brow, concerned as well and understanding, and nodded, going to Callie's other side and giving the teen even more support, now. The two officers practically had to carry Callie, but that wasn't an inconvenience to either of them. They were both beyond concerned for the girl, and they'd do what was necessary to get her to safety.

About two minutes later, they were walking out the doors of the school. A few ambulances were parked just by the police cruisers that were parked out front. Other students, parents, and bystanders were still outside, most of them behind the police perimeter that had been set outside. There were reporters, too, and Stef couldn't help but send them a small glare. Kids were hurt. Kids were terrified. Some kids were probably traumatized. And here the reporters were, ready to make Anchor Beach Charter School the new spectacle that people would be talking about on the news and on social media and on talk shows for, likely, weeks now. The shooting was going to be a way for news stations to get more views, and for reporters to talk about -like they even knew anything about the real situation. Stef had always hated reporters, but this situation brought her dislike for them out to a new level. A camera was aimed to Callie, soon after they walked out of the school, and Stef didn't hesitate to lift up her free hand and flip of the reporters and cameras that were looking in her direction. Callie was _not_ a public spectacle. Callie was a teenager who had been beaten by a psychopath with a gun. She was a _kid,_ who had had far too many traumatic incidents in her short life. The reporters who seemed ready to use her as a way to gain more hits could go fuck themselves for all Stef cared.

They continued as quickly, but still carefully, as possible to the nearest ambulance. Stef's eyes were pulled toward where the police cruisers were, though, when she heard her name called out. Brandon, Mariana, Jesus, Jude, and Lena were all grouped together, all ten eyes fixed on her and Callie. Brandon looked shocked and worried. Jesus had an arm around Mariana again, and they both looked on, concern engraved in their faces. Jude's jaw dropped and he looked like he was the most frightened for Callie of them all. The worry on his face was incredible and he started to step forward, ready to run to his sister, but Lena had stopped him, placing a firm but reassuring hand on his shoulder. Lena looked anxious as she watched Stef and Mike arrive at the ambulance. Two paramedics got Callie and began to load her into the vehicle, then Stef turned and ran quickly to her family.

"I'm going with Callie," Stef started to explain to her wife from a few feet away, rushing her words nervously. She didn't want to hold up the ambulance at all. "I'll meet you and the kids at the hospital, I-"

"Go," Lena nodded quickly, the look in her eyes an affirmation that Lena wanted Stef to go with Callie. "We'll be okay, just go take care of our daughter, okay?"

Stef let out a grateful sigh, leaning forward and giving Lena a quick kiss. She turned and started toward the ambulance, but then Jude grabbed her arm, looking her in the eyes, his face determined.

"Is Callie gonna be okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with more worry than Stef had ever seen in them. He looked like he was going to be sick from how concerned he was, and his tone was wavering.

As much as she wanted to reassure Jude that his sister would be fine, and that she would be okay, Stef knew better than to throw out false hope. Sure, Stef didn't want to imagine that Callie _wouldn't_ be alright, but at this point, things weren't really looking too great. Callie was in a bad state. She'd been pummeled and god only knew what else. As nauseous as it made Stef feel, she knew that there was a chance that Callie wouldn't be okay, and she couldn't just lie to Jude.

"The doctors are going to do _everything_ they can to help your sister, Love," Stef breathed, bending down and giving Jude a quick kiss on the forehead. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I'll meet you at the hospital, okay bud?"

Jude just swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, mustering up whatever courage he could in that moment. He had to hope. He had to believe that his sister would be okay. Callie had always been the one to protect him, and he didn't even want to consider the idea that she might not be okay. He didn't know why she looked as bad as she did -he knew for a fact that Callie's injuries were from more than just being thrown against the wall and hit once. Something else had happened -something bad- and it made him sick. She'd already been through too much. With Liam, with other foster parents and foster siblings. She'd been through enough, and this just wasn't right.

Stef gave him a quick hug, then turned and jogged back to the ambulance, hopping in just as one of the paramedics got out. He closed the ambulance doors, heading toward the driver's seat. Stef sent a quick glance to the medic who was in the back with them to tend to Callie. His eyes met hers and his expression was grim, which alarmed her. She knew that Callie's injuries were serious, but the look on the medic's face only reinforced her worries.

She tried to hide how nervous she was as she took a seat next to the stretcher that Callie was lying on. She didn't want to scare Callie. She didn't want to make her any more hurt or upset. She just wanted to be there for her. She wanted to make sure that Callie wasn't going through this alone. Callie's eyes met her, and the girl reached out her hand slightly, too tired and weak to stretch it out very far. Stef just nodded, trying to offer her daughter a small smile, and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze.

"I'm here, love," she assured her, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her daughter's face with her free hand. "I'm here. You're gonna be okay, alright?"

The ambulance started moving, and Callie just looked at Stef, her eyes flooding with hurt, and most noticeably, with fear.

"I'm scared," she breathed, her voice barely audible.

Stef nodded, feeling a lump forming in her throat. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was scared too.

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 **Okay guys, hopefully this chapter was alright. I'm sorry if it may have seemed a little rushed. I revised the ending of the chapter a little bit because I didn't like how I originally had it written, so that's part of why it took some more time for me to upload this chapter. Also, just a warning, I might not be able to update for another week or so due to personal reasons. I'll probably keep writing more chapters, though. I likely just won't have very much access to my computer, which means no updates here on .**

 **Anyway, yeah, that's that. Maybe I'll manage to get another update up tonight or tomorrow morning, just so I don't leave you hanging here. Please, drop down any comments, critiques, or suggestions down in the reviews. I love getting responses from you guys, it's the main reason why I even post stories anyway. And happy Fourth of July to anyone from America who's reading this! I know that's not till Monday, but in case I don't get to update, I'm just gonna say that here!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Just a warning here guys, this chapter is gonna be short. I just wanted to be able to post one more thing before I pretty much stop posting for the week. I don't think I'll have my computer with me, which means that unless I really get enough time to write a decent amount and unless I can post with a phone, I won't be updating until, likely, next Thursday night or next Friday. I also have one small request for you guys. I'll leave that down in my little Author's Note at the bottom of this chapter, though.**

* * *

A few minutes had gone by. Stef was still holding Callie's hand tightly in her own, gently rubbing her thumb along the back of Callie's hand, and the paramedic was doing what he could to take care of her. He was checking her vitals, asking a few small questions. For the most part, he was tending to the scratches on Callie's face.

Stef didn't take her eyes off of her daughter. Callie looked scared. She looked pained. She looked downright sad. Her eyes held a dark kind of sadness that even Stef couldn't decipher. It was like the girl was haunted by something, and it broke the mother's heart. Seeing her daughter so hurt -filled with not only physical pain, but emotional pain- was one of the worst things that had ever happened to her and she just wanted to hold her daughter tight, to protect her from the world. With her job, Stef knew all too well what kinds of monsters there were in the world; what kind of dangers lurked around any given corner. Callie had been the victim of far too many evils in the world, and that had always been something that saddened Stef. Callie had been through abusive foster homes. She'd seen things that no one should ever have to see. And most sickening of them all, she'd had to live with what Liam had done to her. She'd been raped, and then abandoned by the family that she thought had loved her. And through it all, she'd only had one real priority in her life -protecting Jude- and in all honesty, that had set her up for a lot of self-destruction and pain as well. Stef had thought that it had all been over, though. She'd thought that the violence, and the pain, and the destruction had ended when they brought Callie into the family -when they _knew_ that she was always going to be a part of their family. She'd thought that her daughter was finally safe, for the first time in years, from all of that violence. But she had been wrong. Clearly, she had been wrong, because Callie was lying there on a stretcher in an ambulance, battered and hurt. Callie, the girl who had already been through more violence in her seventeen years of life than anyone should have to go through in a life time, was lying on the fucking stretcher, in pain and bloody and clearly an emotional wreck at the same time.

Callie grimaced after a few minutes when the medic touched her stomach, and she gripped Stef's hand tighter, the pain in her gut sending a jolt through her whole body. She let out a pained, choked cry and squeezed Stef's hand so tightly that it hurt. Stef felt her heart stop, her fears growing worse, and she looked at Callie's face, squeezing her daughter's hand to try to reassure her that she was there, and to try to give her daughter any sort of distraction from the pain.

The medic took his hands off of her stomach, looking at her with deep concern. "Callie," he started, "I'm just gonna have to lift up your shirt real quick to have a look at your stomach, alright?"

Callie gritted her teeth, looking Stef with pained eyes, trying to keep her focus on her mother. She nodded, but she didn't look to the medic. She just kept her eyes on Stef's. Her mother was looking her in the eyes, giving her the "I'm here with you" look that made Callie feel much less alone. Stef was the only reason why Callie was really trying to stay awake, and why she was trying to be strong. It hurt, and it was hard, but she was trying, and she had Stef to thank for that. She had her mother to thank for that.

The medic lifted up the bottom half of Callie's shirt, frowning slightly when he saw her injuries. She wasn't quite bruising yet, but the dark red marks on her stomach were a clear sign that she'd been hit in the stomach at least a couple times. Stef held her breath as she glanced down to her daughter's stomach. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

"Callie," the paramedic spoke, catching the teen's attention. "Can you tell me where it hurts the most, right now?"

"Stomach," she choked out. Stef gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Around here?" he asked, biting his bottom lip slightly as he touched her upper left abdomen.

Callie sucked in a sharp breath, squeezing Stef's hand as tightly as she could while she shut her eyes tightly, clenching her jaw so that she wouldn't let out a whimper of pain. She nodded quickly. That was definitely it. That was definitely where it hurt the most. He'd touched it gently. He hadn't even pressed on it very hard, but it was horrible. The _pain_ was horrible.

"Okay," the medic nodded, letting out a grim sigh. Stef glanced at him. He looked serious. Concerned. That probably wasn't good. "Does your shoulder hurt at all, Callie?" he asked, clearly trying to keep his voice as friendly as possible while he spoke to her. He seemed genuinely concerned though. Something was wrong.

Callie nodded, furrowing her brow slightly. "Yeah," she replied, her voice hoarse as she tried to hide the pain as she spoke. "My left shoulder."

She looked to Stef, her eyes worried. She hadn't even thought much about her shoulder. It hurt, yeah, but she hadn't even directed much attention toward it until now. How did the paramedic know that her shoulder was hurting? He'd been checking her stomach a minute ago, but now he was asking questions about her shoulder that were pretty spot on. Stef looked worried, too, now, and her eyes followed the medic, who was quickly pulling something out of a box in the ambulance.

"Okay, Callie," he started, pulling out a blood pressure meter. Callie knew what it was. She'd had checkups before, and she'd been to the doctor's enough times. It just seemed kind of random, though, and that scared her. The medic was asking her all sorts of seemingly unconnected questions, and it didn't make much sense to her. "This won't hurt," he promised her, wrapping the blood pressure monitor around her upper left arm. "I just want to check your blood pressure real quick, okay?"

Callie just nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat and looking to Stef again. Her mom was looking at her, again, a small look of reassurance in her eyes, like she was trying to convince Callie that she would be okay. Callie knew better than to hope too much, though. Something was wrong. She knew it, Stef knew it, and the paramedic obviously knew it as well.

"It's okay," Stef breathed, sensing the fear that was practically radiating off of Callie. It wasn't okay, though. None of it was.

Callie just nodded at her, staring her mother in the eyes while the medic checked her blood pressure. She didn't want to look away. She didn't want to see the medic's face. She was scared to death and her heart was racing and she was hurting and she was scared to death. Callie wasn't ready to die. She wasn't.

"Alright, Callie, we're done here," the medic spoke, offering Callie a small smile as he took the meter off of her arm. The smile didn't reach his eyes. He looked more concerned than reassuring. When he put away the meter, he took a step toward the driver and passenger's seats and lowered his voice to speak to his partner. "It looks like a ruptured spleen," he said, his voice dead serious, which sent a chill down Callie's spine. "She's seventeen, blood pressure's low, make sure they know to get her straight into surgery."

Callie's eyes widened and she felt her breathing quicken as the panic started to consume her. Ruptured spleen. That meant that she was literally bleeding out into her own body. Surgery. That meant that she'd be cut into by a team of doctors. That meant that her injuries were serious. That meant that she might not make it out alive. She could die. She might die. If it was _that_ necessary for her to go _immediately_ into surgery, then it had to be serious. It had to be life-threatening. Callie had been through hell and back, she'd been injured more times than she could remembered, but now there was a pretty high chance that she wouldn't make it out of this. That she'd die. She _couldn't_ die.

"You're gonna be okay," Stef whispered to her daughter, seeing the immense worry in Callie's eyes. If Stef was being honest, she was scared too. She was scared to death. She couldn't lose her daughter. That wasn't an option. The medic, though, seemed pretty urgent about getting Callie straight onto the operating table, and Stef knew from work experience that a lot of people who went onto the table straight away didn't always make it off.

"You hear me, love?" Stef spoke, her voice raw as she held back her own tears. "You're gonna be okay."

"Stef," Callie choked out, shaking her head. "I- I can't, I-"

"Yes you can," Stef tried to assure her, looking her daughter in the eyes and raising her eyebrows as she tried to give her a small, reassuring smile. It wasn't that reassuring, though. Nothing really was in that moment. "I know you, Callie. You are _strong,_ okay? You're gonna get through this. I know you will."

"Stef it hurts," Callie whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as tears started to stream down her cheeks once more. "It _really_ hurts."

"I know," Stef choked out, nodding slightly. "I know, Cal. I'm sorry." She gave her daughter's hand a squeeze, tears threatening to spill from her own eyes. Callie just drew in a shaky breath, holding her mother's hand with a firm grip, determined not to let go. She couldn't let go.

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 **Okay guys. Again, I know it's short, and I know it's honestly not that great of a chapter, but I wanted to get one more thing out before leaving tomorrow.**

 **And thank you again for all of the reviews. Honestly I was pretty shocked with the response for the last chapter I'd posted and I couldn't be more grateful for what all of you had said. Hearing that you guys like this story, and that it captures your attention/emotion and that you look forward to reading more really does mean a lot, even though I don't tell you that enough. So thank you!**

 **Anyway, as for that request. I started posting another story that I'm writing on a separate website. It's not a fanfiction, but it is a story that is very close to my heart and that I'd really love and appreciate some feedback on, whether it's positive or negative. There's only one chapter up so far, but I'm planning on updating somewhat frequently with that story as well. Like I said, it's just kind of a near-and-dear kind of story that I've written and I'd really appreciate any critique/comments/etc. on it. Sharing links is not allowed on this site, so I'll just tell you that the story is posted on Wattpad under the username "RhymesAndPoetry," and the story is titled _Pain is Pain._ I have a lot of unpublished stories on that site, and that's the site that I use for writing this story as well. Obviously you don't have to go through the trouble of reading it, but I'd like to see people's thoughts, just for their opinions. The first chapter is a little off from what the rest of the story is, but it ties in later on. **

**Aaanyway, I'm rambling, so t** **hanks again you guys! Don't be afraid to drop a review! I'll try to update if I can this week, but no promises, unfortunately. I'll be writing though, so if I don't update, expect a LOT of updates next week!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone, sorry about the delay. Truth is, I didn't get any time at all to write between Saturday and this morning. All in all, everything was good though. I was visiting family, and then I ended up going to NYC for a day, and I'm really into photography so I got a load of pictures too. Now that I'm back on my usual schedule, though, updates are definitely going to be more frequent again. Anyway, now that I'm done rambling on about all that, here's chapter twelve:**

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The waiting room was filled with its usual commotion. Lena hated hospitals with a deep passion, and her distaste for the chemical-scented, bustling place had only increased after Stef had been shot. That had been one of the worst experiences of her life, and she'd prayed that she'd never have to repeat that sort of moment again in her life. She hated the sick, ominous feeling of having to just _sit_ and _wait_ to hear if a loved one was alive or dead. Lena was typically a level-headed, easy going woman. She could take things as they came, and she could do so with grace and with a sense of understanding that one might only wish to possess. But when it came to hospitals -when it came to a loved one's life being in the hands of complete strangers- she couldn't help but feel sick at the heavy weight that settled I her chest. It was ironic, in a sense, and she knew it. She hated when a family member's life was in the hands of well-qualified, experienced stranger who knew what they were doing, yet, other people's family member's lives were constantly in the hands of her wife, who -to them- was always a well-qualified, experienced stranger. Then again, Lena hated her wife's job, too, so maybe it really wasn't all that ironic.

She didn't know how Callie was doing, or how badly she'd been injured, or what had even happened. She'd only caught a quick glimpse of her daughter when Stef and Mike had walked her out of the school and to the ambulance. She'd seen the teen's bloody nose, and the cut on her forehead and the ones on her cheeks, but that was about all that she'd seen. She didn't know how badly Callie had been hurt, or what had happened. Stef hadn't had time to clarify what was going on to her, and during the whole car ride to the hospital, no one had really spoken about _what_ had happened to Callie. Brandon and Jude -especially the latter of the two- had definitely seemed the most confused about what all was going on. She, Brandon, and Jude had known that Nick had taken Callie while she was on the phone with Brandon, but none of them had really known why, and no one in the car had known how Callie had gone from being perfectly okay to being beaten. Clearly Nick had done it, but no one had any clue why, and no one had any clue what all had gone down. Jesus had filled her in on what happened in the classroom when Nick had entered with Callie in front of him, clearly sparing some details about Callie's state for Jude's sake as he spoke. He'd mentioned that she looked bad, but he hadn't gone in depth, which, as much as Lena wanted to know how her daughter was, Lena was grateful for. Sure, Lena knew that Jude would most likely be able to handle the information had it been shared, but he shouldn't _have_ to deal with it.

During the car ride, Jude had asked if Callie would be okay. Brandon asked Jesus what had happened. Jesus had told them briefly that Nick brought her in and that he'd hurt her, and that Mariana had convinced him to drop the gun before the police barged in, Stef included. Mariana, whom Lena had asked to sit in the front seat for obvious reasons, hadn't spoke. She'd just sat there, visibly upset but insisting that she was alright, and Lena had asked her to sit in the front seat for the reason that she could keep an eye on her. Callie was injured, but Mariana was also a victim in all of this. Hell, every one of her kids were. But Mariana, being Mariana, was bound to blame herself for all of this, and Lena knew that as much as she'd end up saying that she was fine, she wasn't.

Now, sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, Lena couldn't fight the churning in her stomach. She was always one to hope for the best, but at this point, she didn't know how much hope she really had in her. By the look in Jesus' eyes when he'd told her that Callie had been injured, she knew that it was bad. Yet, not one of her kids -thank god- had been there to witness what Nick had done to her daughter, which meant that no one really had any clue just _how_ bad it had been. She'd been beaten, that was clear enough, but how badly? Was there internal bleeding? There couldn't possibly be brain damage, could there? How much blood had she already lost? What if she hadn't _just_ been beaten? What if something worse had happened? What if-

 _No,_ Lena stopped herself. She couldn't think like that. She couldn't let her worries get _that_ far, not yet. She had to focus on the present. Callie had been rushed to the hospital, which meant that, whatever her injuries were, they were serious. Lena didn't know whether or not Callie would have to go in for surgery, but she knew that she'd likely have to get immediate treatment. This wasn't just a broken nose, nor a cut forehead. This was serious, which meant that, until Lena knew more, her priority was to take care of her for children in that waiting room who weren't injured, and who were all worried about their sister.

Brandon was seated next to Jude across from Lena. He had an arm draped over the youngest Adams-Foster, which seemed to have calmed down Jude somewhat. Neither of the two spoke. Jude's phone was in his hands, but his eyes were turned toward the floor. Brandon was biting his lip and tapping his foot absentmindedly, a sure sign that he was nervous. There was a small table with magazines on top of it in between Lena's chair and Jesus' chair, and Mariana was on the other side of Jesus. He had an arm over his sister and she was leaning against his side, staring blankly straight ahead, dried tears staining her face. She just looked tired, now. Sad, worried, and tired. Jesus' head was turned toward the ground and the protective arm that he had around his sister reminded Lena of just how strong the bond between the twins was. It was reassuring, especially in that moment. Mike was there, too, in the seat on the other side of Brandon. He had driven ahead of them on the way to the hospital, sirens blaring as he led them to the hospital in a way that they wouldn't have to get stuck behind any traffic. Lena wasn't sure if she'd ever been so grateful for Mike.

About ten minutes had passed, and then Lena heard the voice that she'd so desperately been waiting to hear.

"Lena," Stef breathed out, sounding relieved, tired, and worried all at the same time.

The vice principal looked up to see her wife walking toward her, a sad, grave look on her face, and she stood up. She wrapped her arms around her, letting out a somewhat relieved sigh as well. They needed each other in that moment. They really did.

They gave each other a tight hug, then Lena let out a small breath. "How is she?" she asked quietly, pulling away but keeping Stef's hands in her own as she looked into her wife's eyes.

Stef bit her lip and looked down toward the floor, her expression becoming much more grim. Lena's eyes filled with more worry, knowing that the look on Stef's face didn't mean good news. By now, all of the children in the room were looking up toward their mother expectantly, waiting to hear about how Callie was. About where she was. If they'd be able to see her or not. If she'd even be okay.

"Here, let's sit down," Stef spoke softly. Lena sat back where she had been, and Stef sat down next to her.

Stef glanced at the other kids before starting. She wasn't quite sure how to explain the situation to them all. Sure, she could tell them simply what was going on, but she didn't want to worry them. At the same time, though, she didn't want to give them false hope and promise them that everything would be okay, because she didn't want to lie. She didn't know that everything might be okay. All she knew was that the doctors were doing their job and that they'd do everything they could for Callie. She could only pray that that would be enough.

"Okay," she breathed out, looking gently at the four kids who were all looking at her nervously. "Callie must have been hit in the chest," she started, "and I don't know all the details, but the paramedic who was in the ambulance said that it looks like her spleen was ruptured."

Lena bit her bottom lip. Callie's spleen was ruptured. That meant internal bleeding. That meant surgery. That meant that Callie might not end up okay.

"Now," Stef continued, trying to keep her voice a little bit more hopeful, "I spoke with Callie's surgeon, and-"

"Surgeon?" Jude interrupted, his eyes growing wider as he looked at Stef, not wanting to believe that his sister was actually going to end up cut open on an operating table. "Callie needs _surgery?"_

Stef let out a silent, sad sigh as she looked to her youngest son. She knew that he was worried. She knew that this was hitting him very differently than it was hitting everyone else.

"Yes, love," she nodded, reaching forward and taking his hand in hers. "But look, I spoke with her doctor, and he told me that he's done this dozens of times before, and that Callie should be alright." She looked around to the rest of her children, then. "Right now, though," she said, offering them a small, sad smile that didn't reach her eyes at all, "I think that it's important that you kids head home. It looks like Callie's going to be in surgery for a while, and after the day you all had today, I want you to go home and get some rest. Okay?"

Jesus nodded in understanding, although it was clear in his eyes that he didn't want to leave. Mariana just nodded, her expression unreadable for the most part. Brandon furrowed his brow slightly and looked to the ground, like he was trying to decide whether or not he should argue to stay. He decided on listening to his mother, though, and nodded after a few seconds, muttering a quiet "yeah." Jude just looked at Stef, an almost defiant look in his eyes. She met his gaze and she knew almost immediately how he was going to do.

"I'm not leaving," he said after a few seconds of silence, looking almost incredulously at his mother.

Stef let out a soft sigh, looking sadly at her son. "Jude, love, I know you want to be here with your sister, but-"

"No," he interrupted, shaking his head as he actually began to seem somewhat angry. "I'm not leaving and that's it. Callie is my _sister_ and we both know that if _I_ was the one in surgery right now, she wouldn't just leave, so I'm not going to either."

Stef glanced at Lena, whose eyes were on her as well. Lena just gave her wife a small nod, then looked to Jude. "Alright," Lena breathed out, looking sympathetically at her son. "You can stay." Jude gave her a small but genuine thank you.

"But the rest of you still have to head home, alright?" Stef spoke after a moment, looking to the remaining three children. "You can come back after you've all rested, but right now I want you all to just head home and rest for a couple of hours. Yeah?"

Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana nodded simultaneously, and Lena stood up. "Okay," she breathed quietly, her voice still laced with sadness although she managed to keep it calm and hopeful for the most part. "I'll bring you all home. We'll come back after a couple of hours, alright?" They nodded once more. "Okay," she spoke with a small smile. She handed Brandon the car keys so that he'd be able to unlock it. "I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes, I just need to speak with Mom real quick."

The three children walked out of the waiting room solemnly, Jesus' arm still over Mariana's shoulder while Brandon had his hands in his pockets. Lena watched them go, then she and Stef stepped off to the side of the room, leaving Jude with Mike. There was more to the situation than Stef was letting on, and she knew it.

"What else?" she asked quietly, biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't know if she wanted to hear what else there was to say.

Stef let out a sad, almost defeated sigh, finally letting her guard down slightly as she looked at her wife. She just shook her head gently. "It's bad, Lena," she whispered. "The medic said that it looked like she lost a lot of blood, and I barely got time to even ask her doctor about what was going on because they were rushing her into surgery. I don't know how long it's going to take, or if she'll even-" she stopped herself, swallowing the knot in her throat. "I just don't want the kids to be here right now, Love. Callie might be the only one who's injured, but the others are affected by this more than they're letting on, especially Mariana, and I just want them to try to get some rest right now." She paused, closing her eyes and shaking her head softly as she took in a small breath. "I just don't think that they should be here. Not right now. Not until the doctors are more certain of what they're looking at."

Lena looked her wife in the eyes, letting out a sad sigh as she nodded. "I agree," she replied. She wrapped her arms around her wife, gently running her hand up and down Stef's back. "It's gonna be okay, hun."

Stef just closed her eyes, holding onto her wife's embrace. "How do you know that?" she asked quietly.

"It's Callie," Lena replied, sounding certain. "She's strong. She'll pull through."

Stef released a shaky breath, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I can't lose her, Lena. _We_ can't lose her."

Lena nodded against her wife's shoulder. "I know," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know. And we won't have to."

A few minutes later, the two pulled apart, and Lena forced a small smile before giving her wife a quick kiss on the cheek. "You'll call me if there are any updates?" She asked, although it was more of a statement that they had both silently agreed on than a question.

Stef nodded, giving her wife's hand a small squeeze before letting go. "Yes," she replied. "Now go, make sure the rest of the kids are alright. I'll make sure Jude is, too."

The wives separated as Stef made her way back to where Mike and Jude were sitting. She sat down on the seat between Mike and Jude, grabbing her son's hand and giving it a light squeeze as she tried to offer him what was just a small, sad smile.

"She's lucky to have a brother like you," Stef told him quietly.

Jude had refused to go home, even though he'd been through what could only be described as hell that day as well. Sure, he wasn't physically harmed, but a school shooting was a traumatizing event, and having to watch your sister get hit and then taken out of the room _by_ the shooter was unimaginable. Jude was a good brother, whether he knew it or not, and Callie really was lucky to have him.

They were both lucky to have each other.

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 **Okay, so this chapter wasn't too long but it was the best that I could whip up in just a couple of hours. I just got back home today and I am absolutely exhausted. I'll write up another chapter tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to get it uploaded by tomorrow night.**

 **On another note, to the person who reviewed mentioning that there are a few words missing here and there in just about every chapter, thank you. Sorry about that guys, I really need to get around to fixing all of the little errors, cause once they start to combine, they're pretty big all together. My only excuse (and I hate excuses) is that I write most of these chapters on my phone, and autocorrect is a bitch when it comes to that. It messes with me, and it's easy to just make errors that are all just on my own fault. I keep intending on cleaning up the chapters but by the time I finish them, it's usually late at night and I'm exhausted, or I have to go somewhere, and I've been busy so it's kinda hard to find the time. I do plan on fixing them all sometime soon. Sorry about that again. And thanks again to whoever reminded me, cause I probably would have forgotten. Anyway, yeah, that was that.**

 **Oh and I don't want to drag out all of the hospital stuff cause that's not what I want my focus of the story to be on, so hopefully all of the waiting room scenes and stuff will be finished by the end of the next chapter or the one after that. And I mean I'm 15, so obviously I don't know about all of this medical stuff, so if there are any serious errors that you notice in anything, medically, please please let me know because I like for things like these to be as accurate as possible.**

 **Anyway, that's the end of this long Author's Note, so I hope you all have a good day/night! Please don't be afraid to drop down a review, whether it's negative, positive, or nonsense. I just like hearing from you all. Bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey so I just wanna say thanks for all of the great reviews you all left in such a short time, they really are appreciated more than you'd believe. Also, a couple of you have expressed interest in seeing more hospital scenes, which actually makes me really happy. I was going to do a few, but I was worried that some people would get bored or whatever with them, but now that some of you have made it clear that you'd like to see some more, I'm definitely going to include them.**

 **So without further ado, here's chapter thirteen!**

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"Do you really think she'll be okay?" Jude asked quietly but seriously, his voice piercing the silence.

Stef raised her eyebrows, sad and surprised to hear his question. They'd been sitting in a considerably solemn silence for at least an hour now, but Jude's question had broken it. Mike had left forty minutes ago, as he was technically still on the job, and the doctor hadn't come out to speak with Stef yet. Hearing Jude's question was like a punch to the gut, and Stef didn't know how to respond. Did she _hope_ that Callie would be okay? Absolutely. But did she _know_ that she'd be okay? No. Not at all.

Stef let out a soft sigh, grabbing Jude's hand in hers and trying to offer him a small smile, even though it was a sad one. "Honestly, love, I don't know," Stef whispered, knowing that honesty was the best thing that she could offer him in that moment. "But I think that it's important to hope, and to believe that Callie is strong, and that she can get through this."

Jude looked her in the eyes, then nodded lightly. "Yeah," he mumbled quietly before swallowing the lump in his throat. He looked down to the floor, gritting his teeth.

Stef tilted her head to the side slightly, looking at her youngest son. She knew that he was upset, and worried, and probably still shaken up after the events of the day. He was still there, though. He was still waiting for his sister's surgery to be over, and he'd been so determined in doing so. She wondered if he even gave a damn about his own well-being in that moment.

"Why don't you get some rest, bud?" Stef tried, giving his hand a light squeeze. "She'll probably be in there for a few more hours. I'll wake you up when the doctor comes, or when I hear anything, alright love?"

Jude gave her a somewhat skeptical look, like he wasn't sure if resting would really be the best decision in that moment, but eventually nodded after a few seconds. He knew that she was right. He was exhausted, and he knew that he needed to rest, just to recover from the day's events. Plus, Callie would have wanted him to get some sleep. She wouldn't have wanted him to be drained or more upset. Stef was his mother, and he trusted her to wake him up when the time came.

"Come here," Stef whispered after he agreed.

She put an arm over him and he leaned against her shoulder, closing his eyes. She knew that he didn't _want_ to sleep. She knew that, as much as he might have been trying to hide it, he was deeply concerned for his sister, and that he was scared. Hell, she was scared. She'd been scared ever since she heard that first gunshot. Now, with Callie's life in another person's hands for the second time that day, she was terrified. She couldn't lose Callie. She was too important to the family. Too important to Jude. Too important to Stef. Even though she'd only known the girl for less than two years -even though they'd only recently adopted her- Callie was just as much of a daughter to Stef as Mariana was. The girl was a part of that family, and Stef could _not_ lose her.

She knew that Jude was finally asleep when his breathing was at a calm, steady pace and when his body had relaxed. Knowing that Jude, despite everything that had gone on that day, was finally in a peaceful, relaxed state calmed down Stef somewhat. She kept her arm around him while her other hand held her phone. She was waiting for a text from Lena, or from one of the kids. She was waiting for a text from Mike, who could eventually tell her what there was to know about what exactly had gone down in the school. She was waiting.

She was waiting for a doctor.

She knew that Callie likely wouldn't be out of surgery -she refused to believe that she'd _never_ make it out of surgery- for a decent amount of time. She was aware of that, but still, she couldn't help but worry. She couldn't help but feel incredibly anxious just thinking about the fact that her daughter could be bleeding out on a table, or that her injuries could be worse than the paramedics had suspected, or that something could go wrong during the surgery. She couldn't help the fear rising in her chest and as calm as she tried to remain, her heart was still beating a thousand miles a minute in her chest and she half expected it to jump out of her own chest. She needed to speak with Callie's doctor. She needed to know what was going on. She needed to know that her daughter would be okay.

Even if she were to make it out of surgery, would she really ever be _okay?_

Callie had lost her mother at nine years old. Callie had been abused in previous foster homes. Callie had been _raped_ by her previous foster brother. She'd been tossed from foster home to foster home like she was nothing more than a couple of sheets of paper in a file. She'd been labeled as a delinquent for reasons beyond her control. She'd been thrown into juvie for trying to protect her brother from an abusive foster parent. She'd been forced to grow up faster than anyone should ever have to grow up, and until the Fosters, she'd had to believe that people couldn't be trusted. Until the Fosters, she'd believed that no one could ever _actually_ want her, and that she was essentially just a screw up. Maybe she still felt that way sometimes, even with the Fosters. Stef wouldn't entirely put it past the teen. She'd spent seven years of her life unwanted by each and every foster home that she'd been to. She'd spent seven years blaming herself for every shitty situation that arose, and when it negatively affected Jude, she'd blame herself for that too. The girl had practically grown up living in the shadow of her own disappointment, and as much as it hurt Stef to believe, it was possible that, sometimes, Callie still felt like a screw up, or like she wasn't _really_ wanted. Sure, she'd gotten to the point where, for the most part, she could call Stef and Lena her moms. She knew that they were her family. She was comfortable around them. She could trust them. But still, there was so much that Stef _didn't_ know about the girl. There was so much that Callie just didn't talk about, but that was clearly still on her mind sometimes. There were still things that hurt her. There were still things that made her feel like she was less than she was. There were still things that she didn't feel comfortable talking about. There was still pain.

So after all of the hurt that she'd been through, and all of the hurt that she was still going through, would she really be okay after the hurt that the days events were inevitably going to bring? Even with a successful surgery, and medicine to help with the pain, and a family that would be there for her every step of the way, would she really ever be _okay?_

Stef wanted to believe that the answer was 'yes.' She wanted to believe that Callie would get through all of the pain. She wanted to believe that Callie would be alright. Yes, Callie was strong. In all honesty, Callie was probably the strongest person that Stef knew. But what if this was all just too much? Stef didn't even know what had gone on when Nick hurt Callie. She didn't know if there was more to the story than just him beating her up. She didn't know if-

God, she didn't even want to think about it. She didn't even want to imagine that something more could have happened.

Regardless, Callie had been through something that no seventeen year-old should have to experience. She hadn't just been hit. She hadn't just had her life threatened. She'd literally been beaten nearly to death. Hell, as much as Stef didn't want to think about it, the beating could still potentially lead to Callie's death. The girl had been battered by some psychotic son of a bitch whom Callie had never done anything too. Sure, Stef knew that Callie had grown up with abuse -a thought that already made her sick to her stomach on any other occasion- but that was supposed to be over. It wasn't supposed to be happening anymore.

How could someone ever be _okay_ after that?

Stef let out a sad, unsteady breath, shaking her head lightly as she bit down hard on her bottom lip. She didn't want to think like that. She didn't want to think that her daughter might not be alright. But she couldn't help it. She was sitting in a _fucking_ hospital waiting for a doctor to come and tell her whether or not her daughter had survived a surgery. It was impossible to push away all of the worries, and the fears, and the concerns. It was impossible to just sit there and think positively. Sure, Stef could hope. She could hope that her daughter would make it out of surgery and that she'd be fine. But that didn't mean that she could believe it. That didn't mean that Stef could suddenly just stop thinking that, even if Callie survived, she might just build those walls back up and block everyone out and throw herself into a spiral of self-destruction. After all, Callie was self-destructive. Callie had dedicated her life to protecting her younger brother, and it had been made clear to Stef and Lena multiple times that Callie could be the same way about anyone that she'd cared about, whether it was Mariana or Brandon or Jesus or anyone else. Callie was a protector. She cared about other people more than she cared about herself, and sometimes, that could lead to Callie not even caring about herself at all.

She knew that she could probably go up to the desk in the waiting room to ask a nurse about Callie's state, or about how long she'd still be in surgery, or about if she was even still in surgery. She knew that she didn't have to just sit there and wait, but a part of her was scared. A part of her was scared because, if she were to go up to the nurse to ask that question, then there would be a chance that she'd wind up having to hear the most soul-shattering answer of her life, and she didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to risk it. She didn't want to risk hearing that her daughter had died.

Stef hadn't even been paying attention to the time, but when her phone started ringing, she looked down at it to find that it was already two o'clock. That meant that Callie had been in surgery for almost three hours now, and Stef didn't know whether or not that should be concerning or relieving for her. The doctor hadn't mentioned how long the surgery would be, he'd only mentioned that it would take a few hours, so she didn't know how much longer Callie should still be in there.

She answered the phone immediately, barely even looking at the caller ID. She knew that it was Lena. Both mothers were scared to death, and Stef knew that the only reason why Lena had even gone home was because she had to make sure that the rest of the kids were doing alright. Plus, she was home to make sure that the kids actually made an attempt at getting some rest. Rest was what they all needed in that moment.

Lena asked whether or not anything had changed and Stef sighed quietly, mostly to herself. "No," she replied, a tinge of worry in her voice. "Nothing yet, at least. How are the kids doing?"

It was Lena's turn to let out the same sad sigh. "They're holding up," she replied. "Brandon's on the phone with his dad. Jesus is in his room, texting Emma I think."

"And Mariana?" Stef asked, her voice quiet.

The concern for their youngest daughter was mutual. Mariana, being Mariana, was likely to push aside her own issues because of the fact that Callie had been the one who'd been injured. The mothers both knew that, and it worried both of them. Mariana might not have been physically hurt, but Nick had been _her_ boyfriend and he'd lashed out, supposedly, because he'd seen _her_ kissing Matt. It was obvious to anyone that none of this was Mariana's fault, and that she hadn't asked for any of this, but Mariana was the one person who would likely be blind to all of that. She was most likely going to blame herself for it, and she was most likely going to try to act like she was fine because she'd probably feel like the focus should be on Callie rather than her. The mothers knew this, and they were worried.

Lena's tone became more hushed, and more concerned. "She's barely spoken a word," Lena breathed out. Stef could practically hear her wife shaking her head. "I tried talking to her, but she just said that she was too tired to talk and she went up to her room. Jesus tried to talk to her too, but she just said the same thing."

Stef bit the inside of her cheek. "We can't let her blame herself for this," Stef spoke under her breath. "And we can't let her act like she's perfectly fine when she obviously isn't, either."

"We won't," Lena replied, sounding pretty sure. "So do you think that now is a good time to head back to the hospital with the kids? Brandon's been getting pretty anxious about heading back. Jesus, too."

Stef nodded. "Yeah, yeah I think that's a good idea," she replied, her voice low as she let out a small sigh. "They should be here."

"Okay," Lena breathed. "We'll be there soon. I love you."

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 **Okay, so it took me a little bit more time than I'd expected to get this posted. I was kinda busy the past two days too. But yep, there's that chapter. Not too long, but oh well. I don't know how much I actually like this chapter. To me it seems like a bit of a filler chapter, so I'm not sure how I feel about it. If you could leave a review to tell me what you think, that'd be great.**

 **Oh, and someone mentioned having some Callie/AJ scenes, and trust me, I promise we're gonna have some of those. I know a lot of people ship Brallie, but I don't. I am all for Callie and AJ. I love them together to be honest. So yeah, I am definitely going to include some Callie/AJ scenes. I was actually planning on putting him into the next chapter as well, because, realistically, I think he would be at the hospital.**

 **Anyways, yeah. There's that. So if you could leave a review or any suggestions or critique or anything, please do! Have a great day/night!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Heya guys. So, I'm thinking of starting another story. I won't update it as frequently as I update this one, and it probably won't end up being as long of a story as this one will be, but I have an idea for a good story. More about that later though. Here's chapter fourteen!**

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Five hours into Callie's surgery, the rest of the kids arrived. Lena had given them another two hours to rest at home, which they'd objected to. The mothers, though, had agreed that it would be the best thing for the family as a whole. The day had been stressful and frightening for everyone, and while it was more than understandable for the kids to want to be at the hospital for Callie, it was still important that they allow themselves some time to collect their nerves. So, once five hours had passed and once the kids had made it more than clear that they just wanted to be at the hospital for Callie, Lena brought them in.

No one really spoke. Lena was sitting between Jude and Stef. Jesus, who was on the other side of Jude, had his arm once more around his sister's shoulders. Brandon was on the other side of Stef, and Mike was on the other side of his son. AJ, who had insisted that Mike bring him to the hospital, had arrived there with his foster father half an hour before the rest of the family had.

The nerves were all over the place. AJ was bouncing his leg up and down while he sat in his seat, and he kept looking at his phone screen, although he didn't actually do anything on his phone. It was like he was trying to do what he could to distract himself, but it clearly wasn't working. Mike, who had been allowed to take the day off after he'd explained the situation to his sergeant, was sitting forward with his arms resting on his knees as he twiddled his thumbs. Brandon glanced around every few second as he played imaginary notes on his leg. For years, that had been one of his greatest tells, and the mothers were well aware of it. Whenever he was nervous, whether he even knew it or not, he'd wind up playing the silent notes on his leg. It helped keep him calm, Stef supposed. Stef was just keeping her composure as she sat there. She had her phone in her right hand, and she held Lena's hand tightly in her left. They were in public, and there were bound to be a couple of critical, condemnatory glances from passerby's, but that wasn't really a concern for the mothers in that moment. Their battered daughter was in surgery, and if some holier-than-thou asshole wanted to spout about the teachings of Christ or about how "damaging" Stef and Lena's relationship was to the world and to their children, then so be it. Lena glanced at Stef, letting out a quiet breath. Her left arm was around Jude and she gave his arm a gentle squeeze when she heard him let out a small, shaky breath. She knew that he was worried, and she wanted to keep him as reassured as possible. She wanted to believe that Callie would be alright, and she wanted him to believe that too. In situation like these, hope was something that one had to cling to. Jude was leaning against Lena, his head on her shoulder. He hadn't spoken since she'd arrived. He had his phone in his hand, and it vibrated quietly every ten or so minutes. He knew that it was Connor, and he knew that Connor was probably worried that he'd been hurt or something, but he didn't even look at the screen. He knew that he should just reply, just so Connor would stop worrying, but Jude just didn't have the energy to do anything but worry about Callie. Jesus, however, was still texting Emma with his free hand. She'd been worried about him, as she'd known that he'd been in the room with Nick. She'd known that Nick and Jesus were best friends, and her concern for his well-being was more than obvious. Plus, she knew that Jesus was probably more worried than he was letting on about Callie, and texting him was one of the only things that could help settle his nerves a little bit. His left arm was over Mariana, who still hasn't said much. She had her arms folded and she leaned against her brother, her eyes glazed over as she thought about everything that had happened and how screwed up it all was. She was trying to keep a strong demeanor, as Callie was the one on the operating table, and the one who'd been beaten, and the one who'd had a gun to her head. She was trying to act like she wasn't as upset as she was, because she didn't want to be selfish. She didn't want to draw the attention away from the person whom the family should have been the most concerned for. She didn't need anyone comforting her, or asking how she was. However, she was grateful for Jesus. She was grateful for how he was there for her without being to assertive about it at the same time. He knew her better than anyone -better than she knew herself- and she was grateful for the fact that he was just there.

The clock hanging on the wall opposite Stef seemed to mock the family. The seconds ticked by slowly, and with every minute that went by, she could feel herself growing more anxious. She just wanted Callie's surgery to be over already. She just wanted to hear that, physically, her daughter would be alright. She just wanted the damn doctor to come and tell the family _something_ already.

Lena, too, was ready for everything to be over with. She was ready for the doctor to just come and tell them that Callie would be fine. That way, at least the rest of the family wouldn't have to be worrying so much. At least _then_ they'd all be allowed to _actually_ rest. Sure, she and Stef had made the kids stay home for a few hours so that they could get some rest but the mothers both knew that none of the three kids had actually done so. Sure, Brandon had gone to his room and until Mike had called, he'd claimed to be asleep, but Lena knew better than to believe that. She knew that he'd just been worrying. Jesus, too, had just sat on his bed, using his phone for the couple of hours that they were home. He was texting Emma, he'd said. Lena had tried to convince him to just try to get some sleep, but he'd argued and he'd insisted that he didn't need any, and that he was fine. He'd just watched his best friend threaten not one, but _two_ of his sisters, and then he'd watched him get put into handcuffs and dragged away. Lena knew that he wasn't fine. Mariana, on the other hand, was a whole other story. Lena knew that she _definitely_ wasn't alright. The girl had barely spoken, and she'd seemed a little lost in her own world for the couple of hours that they'd been home. She hadn't slept, that much Lena knew. She'd just sat in her room the whole time, most likely thinking about the events of the day. Lena had no clue what was going on in the young girl's mind, but she knew that having to watch her boyfriend do what he did -having to know that she was in some way a part of _why_ her boyfriend had done what he did- wasn't something that would just pass lightly over Mariana's head. So, Lena wanted to know how Callie was. She wanted the day to be over, and for Callie to be alright. She wanted things to settle down so that the family could _actually_ relax at least somewhat more. The day had been stressful for everyone -especially for the kids, who didn't deserve to go through any of what had happened- and for the family's well-being, she just wanted them to be able to breathe for the first time in hours.

Plus, she just wanted to hear the words. She just wanted to hear a doctor tell her that Callie had made it through the surgery and that she was bound to make a quick recovery and that everything would be alright. She just wanted to hear that the girl's injuries weren't as serious as she'd been worrying. She just wanted to hear that her daughter would be alright.

But then again, even if Callie would recover well medically, who was to say that she'd really be 'alright' very soon?

Lena wasn't a fan of violence. She never had been. She liked peace, and she liked kindness, and she liked safety -not just for herself, but for her whole family. She had no clue how she'd somehow managed to marry a woman whose job -whose life- was literally dedicated to being put in the face of danger to save a person's life. Sure, the generosity and the selflessness in the job was definitely something that Lena admired, but the _risk?_ The _danger?_ Lena still didn't know how she'd managed to fall in love with someone whose job was practically a magnet to violence.

Her family had experienced far too much violence -far too much pain- already. Stef had been shot. Brandon had gotten his hand crushed. Mariana, and especially Jesus, had been hurt in a hit-and-run. Then there was Jude and Callie's entire backstory of losing a mother to a drunk driving accident and then being passed through countless abusive foster homes. Callie had gotten the worst of it out of them all. She'd been the one who had suffered the most. When she and Jude had been in the system, Callie had intentionally put herself into harms way with the sole purpose of protecting Jude. She'd gotten herself hurt by foster parents countless times just so that Jude wouldn't have to be a victim of the abuse. Sure, it didn't always work, but most of the time, it did. Then there was Liam, the bastard whom Lena didn't even want to think about in that moment. After him, there were still more foster parents. More abuse. More violence.

Even thinking about the violence that the seventeen year-old had already faced was enough to make Lena sick. It was heartbreaking knowing that her daughter had been through so much. It was something that she could never forget. Now, though, once they'd finally thought that Callie was safe -once they'd finally been able to adopt her- this had happened. That sick son-of-a-bitch had barged into that school with a loaded gun and had beaten Callie. Lena didn't know _how_ badly Callie had been beaten, as she'd never gotten a good look at the girl, but she knew that it was bad. She knew that it was worse than anything she'd ever actually seen. Lena hated violence, and Callie had been the butt of it all. During her whole young life, she'd been a victim of more violence than anyone ever deserved to experience, and now, she was a victim to even more of it. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It wasn't okay, and it never could be.

After six and a half hours passed since Callie had been brought in, a doctor walked into the waiting room from a hallway that lead to the surgical wing. To the rest of the family, it didn't really mean anything -doctors had been coming in and out of the room the whole time, talking to family members and giving the good, and sometimes bad, news- but to Stef, it meant everything in that moment. The rest of the family didn't know who he was, but Stef did. Stef knew who he was. She'd gone into the hospital with Callie, and she'd spoken to the doctor, and she knew just who he was as he walked into the room and toward the solemnly waiting family.

The blonde stood up, which gained the attention of the rest of the family. Lena and Jude were the first to stand up behind her as she took a few steps toward the approaching doctor, and within ten seconds, everyone was on their feet, waiting anxiously.

"Is she okay?" Stef asked the surgeon with worried eyes once he was only a few feet away. "Is Callie okay?"

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 **Okay so you guys know how I love cliffhangers, so there you go! All I can really say is that there are going to be a lot of emotional chapters up ahead. I know this chapter was pretty short, but I'm going to try to make the next couple chapters longer. Thanks again for all of the incredible reviews that you guys are leaving. It really does mean the world to me to hear that you're enjoying this story. I was hesitant about starting it in the first place, but now I'm more than glad that I did.**

 **Oh, and in response to the question about why Lena had taken the kids home, I hope that some of this chapter cleared that up for you. I wasn't very clear about it in the previous chapter, so I can fully understand the confusion. Oh, and in total, the kids would have been at home for about four hours, give or take a couple minutes.**

 **Anyways, please drop a review if you can, and don't be afraid to leave any suggestions or questions if you have any.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Heya. Thank you all very much for all of the reviews you've left! One of you asked if I had a tumblr so that you could send me an idea for a scene. I _do_ have a tumblr, but I don't have one dedicated to The Fosters (yet). If you want to message me on there, the handle is "TheMindBehindTheLense." It's mostly just filled with little pieces of writing but I'd be happy to respond if you message me on there!**

 **Anywho, here you go:**

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The surgeon, Dr. Anderson, offered the family a smile as he gave Stef a small nod. "Barring any complications," he responded, "yes, Callie is expected make a full recovery. We'd like to keep her here for a couple of days just to keep an eye on her, but the surgery went well."

"Can we see her?" Jude spoke up, his voice strong as he took a step forward.

The doctor glanced at him, giving him a small smile. "We have her heavily sedated, so she's unconscious at the moment, but yes, you may see her if you'd like. You can talk to Pam over at the front desk," he nodded his head toward where a nurse was sitting behind the desk in the waiting room, "and she'll let you know where to go."

The whole family breathed out one unified sigh of relief, and the doctor looked back to Stef and Lena. "I _would_ like to speak with either one of you about the extent of Callie's injuries, and the recovery plan, though."

His tone was more serious, now, which reminded the mothers that not everything was over yet. The surgery had ended, and Callie should be able to recover from that, but that didn't mean it was the end. Stef and Lena glanced at each other and nodded in mutual understanding. They'd both wait with the doctor. The kids could go see Callie.

"Okay," Stef nodded, her voice quiet like she was even more worried now about what all the doctor had left to say that only the mothers should be hearing. She glanced back to the rest of the family. "Uh, Mike, can you take the kids down to Callie's room?" She asked, although it was more of a statement. "We're just gonna stick around and talk to Dr. Anderson for a moment."

Mike nodded, the more serious look in his eyes displaying that he understood what Stef was asking him. It was clear that she was trying to act like everything would be alright -like she wasn't worried- but he knew that deep down, she was probably more concerned than anyone else in that room. He held her gaze for a moment, then offered the kids a small smile as they headed toward the desk to ask for Callie's room information.

Once the kids were far enough away, the doctor's expression turned more grim, which confirmed Stef's worries. There was more to the situation than he'd let on while the children were around.

"What is it?" Lena asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. She knew what that look meant, too.

"Callie's injuries are-" he paused, like he was trying to find the right word. "extensive."

Stef felt her heart drop and she bit her lip hard. Her injured were extensive. That meant they were bad, and that there were a lot of them. Probably more than Stef, who had seen Callie already, was aware of.

"There were notable signs of blunt force trauma around her chest and abdominal area," he continued, "which would account for the ruptured spleen. By the looks of it, there is likely going to be a significant amount of bruising. It looks like she also suffered from some trauma to the face and head as well. She has a broken nose, which should heal on its own within five to six weeks. There were multiple lacerations on her face, but the one that concerns me the most is the one on her forehead. We ran a CT scan to look for any signs of brain damage-"

Lena's hand flew up to her mouth, shocked and now even more concerned, and her other hand found its way to Stef's arm. Stef, who just gritted her teeth harder, rested her other hand on Lena's. Brain damage hadn't even been something that they'd thought about. Jesus, Callie couldn't have brain damage. She _couldn't._

"-but thankfully, it looks like at most, she might just have a concussion."

The mothers both let out a sigh of relief, and Stef put an arm around Lena, closing her eyes for a moment as she exhaled the worry that had been building up in her chest. For a moment, even if it had only been for a few seconds, she'd really believed that her daughter could have wound up with brain damage. Knowing that that wasn't the case, Stef could finally breathe again. Somewhat, at least.

"As I said earlier, I want to keep Callie here for a few days to monitor her initial recovery process following her surgery. In that time, we'll also be able to check for any signs of a severe concussion or anything that should be concerning for us. I predict that, at most, she'll just have a mild concussion, but she's going to be here for a couple of days anyways, so I'd like to keep an eye on that as well."

"Yes," Stef nodded, holding her wife tightly at her side, "I think so as well. Is there anything else we need to know? About what kind of care she's going to require for the next few weeks? About her injuries?"

He nodded, forcing a tight smile. "Yes," he replied. "While Callie should make a full recovery, she's still expected to try to get a decent amount of rest for the next one to two weeks. I'd say that, within the next six weeks, she should be able to return to her regular daily activities if she plays sports or anything like that, but just for the first week or so it's important that she just takes it easy. For the couple of days that she's here with us, I want her to remain bedridden. The first few days after a surgery like this are crucial in the healing process, so it's important that she doesn't move around too much. Once she's in your care, she should be able to walk, but just make sure she avoids any strenuous activities."

The mothers nodded in unison. They clung to every word that the doctor said. They needed to know about Callie's physical state, and what would be required of them to make sure that she didn't wind up hurting any worse.

"We used tape to close her incision," he continued, glancing down at his chart for half a second, "so you won't have to worry about changing any dressings. The tape should fall off in about a week or so. It will do that on its own, so just make sure that she knows not to make an attempt at removing it on her own. It's also important that, for the first week, she covers it with plastic wrap before showering. Now, as the spleen is a part of the body's immune system, there's always going to be a risk of infection. Keeping up on her immunizations will greatly decrease her risk of getting any kind of infection, and during her first week of recovery after she gets back home, I want you to check her temperature daily. If she spikes a fever, call me-" he pulled a card out of the pocket on his scrubs, handing it to Lena, "and, while it's not expected, if at any point she has a fever above one hundred, I want you to bring her back here so we can take a look. I have a list of what can be expected and what you should look out for, along with information on how to manage the pain and care for the wound at home. I've also prescribed Callie with some pain medications, which should last for about three or four days. She's hooked up to an IV right now with pain killers that should help, so until you get home, don't worry about actually giving her the meds. Just make sure that after she's home, she takes three a day for about four days straight. It will work most effectively if she takes them at the same times each day. Everything else that you need to know about Callie's surgery and about what you can expect is right in here."

He held up a small packet for one of the mother's to grab, and Stef reached out and took it.

"In regards to Callie's other injuries, as I already said, they're not too concerning. There is some swelling in her facial area, which most likely won't go down for another day or two, and she will be left with some contusions from that as well. I'm expecting minimal scarring, most of which will really only be from the laceration on her forehead. And like I said earlier, she's sedated at the moment, so she's not awake yet. When she does wake up though, she'll likely complain of a sore throat. This would be from the breathing tube that helped her breathe during the surgery, so that's normal. Sucking on ice chips or just drinking some water should help with the pain somewhat. That pain should go away within a day or two, and she is expected to make a full recovery from all of her injuries."

Stef let out a small breath, glancing down at the small packet that he'd handed her. It was good that her daughter would make a full recovery -it really was- but she still wasn't entirely relieved. The fact that her daughter would be physically okay was incredible, and it was a weight lifted off of her shoulders, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was happy, or that everything was okay, or that there wasn't anything left to worry about. There was still so much more to the situation than a ruptured spleen. Callie had been _beaten_ , and she'd had a _gun_ held to her head. Stef knew that those events were, most likely, traumatizing for the girl, especially after she'd been promised that she was in a safe home, away from the abuse and violence and pain. Callie was expected to make a physical recovery, but was she expected to make an _emotional_ recovery?

The doctor looked sympathetic, then, like he could see what Stef was thinking. Lena, too, looked just as concerned as her wife. The doctor reached into his pocket once more, then pulled out another card, one that looked somewhat different than the one that had been given to Lena. He held it toward Stef, who took it with a raised eyebrow. Was there _more_ to talk about?

"I've seen plenty of victims of abuse and violence before," he spoke, his voice lower now. "While I don't know exactly what happened to your daughter, I know that, to leave her with a ruptured spleen, it must have been bad enough. Doctor Renolds," he nodded toward the card that Stef was now holding, "is an incredible psychiatrist. He works with victims of assault and abuse very often, and I've referred a lot of my patients to him. If it ever seems necessary, you should give him a call."

Lena gave him a tight smile, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Thank you," she whispered to the doctor, not trusting her voice enough to speak any louder. She gave him a grateful nod, and he just offered the mothers a small, sympathetic smile and a nod before walking off.

She looked to Stef, then, who was looking right back at her. Their eyes met and they embraced, each of them letting out a heavy breath. That had been a lot of information. A lot of talk about Callie's injuries, which Lena hadn't even seen up close yet. Even just hearing it from the doctor, the girl's injuries sounded a lot worse than Lena had imagined. A broken nose. Swelling. Bruising. Cuts. That was a lot, and Lena didn't know how the girl -or how the whole family- would be able to handle it. The next few weeks would, without a doubt, be difficult for them all.

The wives spoke for a few minutes, both reassuring each other that they'd do what they had to do to help Callie recover. Soon, though, they both agreed that it was time to actually see their daughter.

When Lena walked into the room, seeing her injured daughter was like a punch to the gut, and anyone in the room could see it. The girl was lying on the hospital bed, her skin somewhat paler than usual, which only highlighted the darkening red marks, which nearly covered her face, even more. Most of the left side of the teen's face was beginning to swell significantly, especially around her eye, which was almost swollen shut. The gash on the top of Callie's forehead was glued shut, with small strips of tape helping to keep it closed. She would undoubtedly be left with a mark there for the rest of her life. There were other small cuts scattered around her face, along with a fairly deep one on her left cheek. That, too, had thin strips of tape over it. An IV ran down to Callie's right arm, likely pumping her with whatever sedatives were keeping her unconscious for the time being. The monitors were next to the hanging IV fluid bag. They beeped steadily, the only sign that Callie was really even alive in the moment. The girl's head was limply turned to the side slightly, and her mouth hung slightly open. She had a bloody lip, too.

Lena thought back to the first time that she'd ever even seen Callie. The girl had looked so _broken._ She'd had a bloody lip, then, too. Lena had almost turned her away. She'd almost said "no" to letting the girl stay with her.

 _"It's just for a few weeks, right?"_ she'd decided.

Little had she known, at that time, that Callie would end up being much more than just a broken-down juvenile delinquent who had just needed a place to stay. Little had she known the amount of love and joy that Callie, and ultimately Jude, would wind up bringing to the home.

Now, though, that girl was lying on a hospital bed, her lip bloody like it was on that fateful day, her face beginning to bruise. Now, Callie was broken once more, and Lena didn't know how they'd even be able to help fix her this time. _If_ they'd even be able to help fix her this time. Looking at Callie now, with the injuries that would have screamed 'abuse' had someone walked by without knowing the full story, it was like looking back into the past.

Jude glanced over to Lena, as did everyone else in the room. She'd gasped lightly when she'd walked into the room, and now she just stood there, looking at Callie in shock. In all honesty, that was how Jude, Brandon, and AJ had reacted too, as they were the only kids who hadn't actually seen Callie's injuries. Jesus and Mariana had been there with her after Nick had hurt her. Mike and Stef had been the ones to help get her to the ambulance after everything went down. Everyone else, though -Lena included- hadn't actually _seen_ the extent of Callie's injuries until they'd walked into her room.

After a few long seconds, Lena looked down to Jude, who was just sitting in a chair that he'd moved closer to Callie's hospital bed so that he could hold his sister's hand, even though she was unconscious at the time. He had a tired, grave expression on his face, and his eyes were wet, like he wanted to cry but he was holding the tears in. That wasn't surprising. Everyone, really, looked that way.

Seeing Callie in the state that she was in was enough to make the entire family shed a few tears.

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 **Okay guys, so that's chapter fifteen done. I was planning on getting chapter sixteen up as well, but my internet kept cutting out during the day so I never actually got to finish that chapter. I'll try to post it on here at some point tomorrow, though. I was a little skeptical about this chapter, as a majority of it really is just doctor-talk. Maybe that was pretty boring, I dunno. I was going to put some more emotional stuff into this chapter, but I wanted to keep the doctor-talk and the emotional stuff separate for the most part if that makes sense.**

 **Anyways, please don't be afraid to leave a review, or any suggestions or critique. Message me about the story or anything if you need to as well. I'm going to bed now, though. I'm absolutely exhausted.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone! Thanks again for the reviews. One of you mentioned the fact that the police/media/school administration would realistically be all over this stuff. I'd actually been planning on including some of that in this chapter, and a lot of it in later chapters. There are a couple small reasons why I haven't included any of that yet, which you'll see in later chapters to come. I am glad that someone pointed it out though. It reminded me of some stuff that I've been wanting to put in this chapter/other chapters. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 16:**

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Jude's eyes were fixed on the floor. He was sitting on the chair that he'd pulled towards Callie's hospital bed, and he held her limp hand tightly. It didn't make sense. He just couldn't wrap his mind around _why_ this had happened. Callie hadn't done anything to Nick. She hadn't done anything wrong. But still, out of all of the people that this could have happened to, it had wound up being Callie. Jesus, his sister had already been through enough. Jude had seen his sister get beaten before. He'd been beaten a few times as well, but Callie had always been the one to protect him. She'd taken plenty of abuse that was aimed at him. She'd received the worst of it -she'd received the worst of everything that they'd been forced to endure- and now here she was, left bruised and hurt by some bastard, once again. It was fucked up, and Jude was pissed.

He was pissed at Nick, he was pissed at God, and he was pissed at himself.

He'd been there. He'd been _right_ there with her. When Nick had gotten into that room, Jude had been right next to his sister. He'd seen Nick grab her, he'd seen him hit her, and he'd seen him take her out of the room. Still, though, he hadn't stopped it. Sure, he'd spoken up, but that wasn't enough. Compared to everything that Callie had ever done to stop him from being hurt, that wasn't _anything._ Maybe if he'd just stood his ground -maybe if he'd told Nick to take him instead- then none of this would've happened. Maybe if he'd lunged at Nick, or stalled him so that Lena could tell Stef or the other cops where they were, then Callie wouldn't be lying on a hospital bed. Maybe if he'd just done _more,_ then Callie would be okay.

The family had been in the room for at least an hour. Nothing had changed, not that it was supposed to. The doctor had already mentioned that she was heavily sedated. She wouldn't wake up for a few hours. Jude knew that. Waiting around, though, just wasn't something that he wanted to do. It made him worry more. It made him think more about how screwed up it all was. He just wanted to see her awake, to know that she really was going to be alright.

After a while, Lena stood up, whispering something quietly into her wife's ear. Everyone's eyes turned to her, even if just for a moment, and she just offered the family a small, sad smile. "I'll be back in a minute," she said quietly. Her eyes were sad, and it was clear that there was no truth in the smile that she'd given them. No one could blame her, though.

She turned, then, and walked out the door of Callie's hospital room. She pulled out her phone, which had been vibrating lightly in her pocket, and read the caller ID. It was Monte, and Lena contemplated ignoring the call. She still wasn't too fond of Monte after everything that had gone down, and she was in the middle of a family crisis. She really wasn't in the mood to speak with the woman. She knew that she had to answer, though. Given everything that had occurred that day, if there was anything pertaining to the school or to what Nick had done, then Lena had to answer. She was the vice-principal of a school that had just been put on lockdown due to an active shooter, and professionally, she knew that she had to answer the phone.

"Hi," Lena answered, her voice low as she took a few steps down the hallway.

"Lena, the reporters are _all_ over the place," Monte sighed, clearly stressed out. "They're asking questions -about why this happened, about where Nick is, about who was hurt. The police are still taking statements and investigating the scene right now, and I think they're trying to keep all of the news reporters and everything away for now, but this is going to blow up, Lena."

Lena let out a quiet breath, frustrated and tired. Of course the reporters were hounding the school, and the students, and the administration. Of course they were. Anchor Beach Charter School -one of the top-ranked schools on the West Coast- had just been the location of a shooting. The shooter had been a student who had been _attending_ the school, and he'd managed to shoot one person and badly injure another. Of course the media was trying to get a hold on the situation. And, of course, the Adams-Foster family would have to deal with it, likely, more than anyone else.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath, running a hand through her hair. Lena wasn't a fan of foul language, but this situation was undoubtedly an exception. After seeing Callie's state and coming to the realization that the situation was much, much worse than she'd even imagined, it was definitely an exception. "Alright Monte, uh, if they ask questions, just tell them no comment-" Lena paused for half a second. Hadn't Stef said the exact same thing to Callie the previous day, about what she'd said at the opening of the Fost n' Found app? "Try to spread the word to the rest of the staff. Do _not_ tell them who the shooter was, or who was hurt."

Lena bit her lip and shut her eyes, letting out a long, quiet breath as she leaned against the wall. " _Please_ do not tell them who was hurt."

The last thing that the family -that Callie- needed was for reporters to start flocking the hospital in an attempt to get to Callie. They didn't need reporters hounding them. Callie had already had the media all over her within just a day of the release party for her app. That alone had been difficult enough -especially now that allegations that Callie and Brandon had slept together had arisen- and now they were bound to have more reporters coming at the entire family. It would only make their situation even worse -especially given the fact that Callie's announcement about Justina and the information about her and Brandon was already circling around on line and, possibly, on the news.

"No," Monte replied quickly and definitely. "No, of course not. The rest of the staff knows that as well. I've told them that. I just-" she let out a sigh. "I'm sure there are already reporters on their way to or at the hospital right now, and I just wanted to warn you about that."

Lena nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat. "Thank you, Monte," she replied.

"Yeah," Monte responded, "no problem. I gotta go, though. Things are... busy, around here. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Lena nodded, then hung up the phone a few seconds later, letting out a heavy, downhearted sigh. The situation was definitely a lot worse than she'd expected it to be, worse than she or Stef or anyone could have imagined, and as much as she wanted to protect her daughter from the reporters and the news and the allegations that would inevitably pop up, she knew that she wouldn't be able to shield her from it all. The reporters would eventually figure out that Callie had been hurt, and that Mariana, however they would twist it, was a part of the story too. And then, after realizing that Callie was already spiraling around the news following her accusation against Justina, the reporters would have even more of a reason to focus on Callie, and to build a story that would get them paid, that would get them famous, and that would get the news channels viewers. It was how the media and society worked. It was fucked up, but it was how it worked.

Lena closed her eyes, swallowing hard as she tilted her head back against the wall. She let out a shaky breath and could feel the tears building up in her eyes. Until now, she hadn't had the chance to actually think about everything that had happened, especially to Callie. She'd been with the kids for basically the entire time. Even at home, she'd kept her demeanor calm, like she hadn't been panicking on the inside. She'd known better than to make her kids worry more than necessary by getting upset, or crying. Then after they'd arrived at the hospital, the same thing had applied. In Callie's hospital room, the same thing had applied. Now, though, she was in the fairly empty hallway, alone, and she couldn't fight it anymore. She'd been in shock for the post part, but now it was wearing off. Now she was really starting to see the situation as it was.

Callie had been beaten. She'd had her life threatened. She'd had a gun to her head. She'd been _beaten._ By Mariana's boyfriend. Mariana was clearly not herself. She was clearly trying to act like she was in a better emotional state than she really was. Callie had been assaulted. Jesus had seen his best friend threaten his sisters' lives. He'd been tending to Mariana the whole time after that, too. Jude had watched his sister get hit and then dragged out of the room by that fucking sociopath. Callie had been attacked by that sick bastard.

Callie had been attacked, and now she was lying on a fucking hospital bed after having her spleen removed _because_ she'd been attacked. The girl was covered in dark red marks that would inevitably be bruises the next day. She had two black eyes -one of them already pretty swollen- and a broken nose, and a scratched up, previously bloodied face, and a fat lip. God only knew how bad the bruising around her abdomen would be, considering the fact that she'd been hit hard enough and enough times that her spleen had ruptured. Lena didn't even want to think about what else might have happened. She doubted that her worst fears could actually be true, but she couldn't help but worry. She was the girl's mother and she couldn't help but worry.

She let out another trembling breath and a few silent tears rolled down her cheeks. She kept her eyes shut and she ran a shaky hand through her hair once more. Jesus, it wasn't right. None of it was right. She couldn't believe that any of this had _actually_ happened to Callie, to her family. It was fucked up beyond comprehension. She needed to calm down though. She needed to breathe, and she needed to stay strong. More than anything, her kids needed someone to stay calm for them, someone to give them reason to believe that everything would be okay and someone to keep _them_ calm. She couldn't do that -she couldn't be that person for her kids- if she were to drop that exterior and freak out or break down. She took in a deep breath, gritting her teeth, then exhaled, keeping her breath as steady as possible. She inhaled, opening her hands slightly, then exhaled through her mouth. She inhaled, her hands no longer balled into fists, and exhaled, opening her eyes.

She brought a hand up to her face, quickly wiping away the tears that had fallen from her eyes. No one needed to know that she'd been crying, even if only for a few minutes. She stood there for a few minutes, her back against the wall, just collecting herself and regaining her composure. She was exhausted. Up until she'd walked outside, she hadn't even realized just how tired she was. Now, though, after momentarily allowing herself to break down for a moment, she was fully aware of how exhausted she really was. Her eyelids were heavy and her eyes were burning slightly, partially due to the tears but for the most part due to her fatigue. It had been a long day, and she was absolutely beat. She knew that the kids were probably feeling even worse, though. She'd have to get them home soon. Maybe then she'd be able to get some rest too.

She waited outside a few minutes and intended on heading back into Callie's room before anyone could get suspicious at all, but when she heard approaching footsteps coming from the room, she knew that she was too late. She looked to her left and offered her wife a weak, sad smile as she approached.

"Hey, love," she breathed, offering Lena the same exact smile. Her eyes were a mix of sadness and concern and general unease, but there was a lot of love in them too, which made Lena feel a little less overwhelmed. "How are you holding up? I know it's been a long day for all of us, not just the kids."

She leaned against the wall right next to Lena, letting out a quiet breath.

"I'm fine," Lena responded, turning her head to look at her wife. "I'm just worried about the kids, that's all."

Stef bit her bottom lip. She knew that Lena wasn't 'fine,' but she wasn't going to press it either. Not right now at least. "Yeah," she nodded with a sigh instead. "Me too... Me too."

Lena looked toward the ceiling, shaking her head lightly. "The reporters are gonna be all over this," she muttered with a disheartened tone. "All over _us."_ She said the last word as she turned her head once more and looked Stef in the eyes.

Stef just frowned, nodding gently. "I know," she breathed out, her voice almost hollow. "I texted Alan from work, got him to head over here just to try and make sure no reporters or anything could get to us." She paused. "He managed to get a car stationed outside the house too, just for a little while. After today, I just want to make sure the kids at least feel safe at home. And if a squad car can do that _and_ keep away any reporters, I don't see a problem with it."

Lena closed her eyes, grabbing Stef's right hand with her left one and giving it a light but meaningful squeeze. "You're amazing," she whispered, slight relief falling over her. At least they didn't have to worry about any reporters getting to them any time too soon.

She opened her opened her eyes after a few seconds, and Stef was looking right at her. There was a little more sadness in her eyes, now, and Lena frowned slightly. "What is it?" she asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

"They're gonna have to give their statements to the police, too," she explained sadly. "I can talk to my captain, get the station to hold off until tomorrow, but they're still gonna have to talk to them."

Lena just sighed, nodding with understanding. Then she glanced toward the door to Callie's hospital room. "Callie's gonna have to give hers pretty quickly after she wakes up too, isn't she."

It was a statement. Not a question. Lena wasn't a cop, but she knew how these things worked. To build a strong case against Nick -which was inevitably going to happen, but they still had to do what they good to make him stick with a long sentence- the police would have to talk to witnesses, and to victims, and to anyone who had a connection to Nick, which meant that Callie would have to give her statement. Mariana would, too. It sucked, and it was unfair that they had to and that Callie really wouldn't be given much of a break after waking up, but it was how these things worked, unfortunately.

Stef just nodded, her frown growing deeper.

Lena raised a skeptical eyebrow, like she already knew what the answer to her question was going to be, but she still had to ask, just in case. "Is there any chance that _you_ can take her statement? I mean I know we're family, but-"

Stef nodded, which stopped Lena. The latter of the two just nodded, glancing down at the ground. She knew that it was a long shot. She'd just had to ask, just in case.

"I can be there, though," Stef tried. "You can too. And I'm sure Mike would be willing to take her statement for us. At least that way Callie knows and trusts who she's talking to. I mean that's better than a total stranger taking her statement for her, right?"

"Absolutely," Lena sighed, feeling relieved again. She pulled her wife into a hug, resting her chin on her shoulder. "Thank you."

Stef just held Lena tightly, closing her eyes and nodding. "She'll get through this, Love. We all will."

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 **Okay, so that took longer than I thought it would for me to update this. I ended up being busy all day, so I just got this all written between like midnight and now. I'm going to be busy tomorrow, too, which means you probably won't get to see chapter seventeen until very late tomorrow night. Anyways, though, I'm absolutely exhausted and I have to get up early, so I'm just gonna leave this here.**

 **And thanks again for all of the reviews. Honestly I mean you guys are wonderful, I can't even tell you how thankful I am for you all.**

 **Goodnight!**


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys. Sorry it took a little longer than I expected for me to update. Busy day. Also, things are eh right now, so it might be another day or two until I can update again after this chapter. Anyways, I wasn't so sure about this chapter either but here it is anyway, so hopefully I'm just worrying over nothing:

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It was ten o'clock and everyone was exhausted. Jude looked as though he was struggling to stay awake. Jesus was just texting once again. Every couple of minutes, Brandon would run a tired hand down his face, as though it would help him wake up a little bit. Mariana's eyes were closed, but she'd open them every two or three minutes, clearly ready to fall asleep but not wanting to. Lena had her head resting against Stef's shoulder as she just looked on sadly towards Callie. Stef had her left arm around Lena while she held her wife's hand in her right hand. Mike had left an hour beforehand, and he'd taken a reluctant AJ home with him.

Both of the mothers knew that the kids, at the very least, needed some rest. Sure, they all needed to sleep, but they were more concerned about the children than themselves in that moment. It had been a stressful, difficult, worrisome day for the entire family, and they all wanted to be there for Callie, but they needed to rest. Otherwise they'd all just wind up completely drained by the time that Callie woke up, and then none of them would be much help to her at all.

"They need to go home," Lena sighed sadly, her voice low enough that only Stef could hear her clearly, "get some sleep, recuperate from everything that's happened today. One of us can stay here, in case Callie wakes up soon." She didn't want to send the kids home, but she knew that it was for the best. "

Stef frowned sadly, nodding in agreement. She didn't want to make the kids leave, because she knew that they wouldn't want to leave, but at the same time, she knew what was best for them, and that was to go home. Plus, Callie probably wouldn't want her room to be a full house when she woke up. The last thing that she needed was to feel overwhelmed, or crowded.

"I know," Stef replied quietly, rubbing her thumb gently against the top of Lena's hands. "Let's just give them ten more minutes, right love?"

Lena smiled, her eyes sad, and nodded. "Yeah," she whispered, her eyes falling on Callie's face as she gave Stef's hand a small squeeze. If she was being honest, she was just about as reluctant to leave Callie's side as the rest of the family was. She knew that they'd have to leave at some point, though, for the kids' well being.

Lena just kept her eyes fixed on her battered daughter. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Callie was hurt, and it wasn't fair that this had happened -it wasn't fair to anyone in the family. She wished that she could just take away all of the pain, that she could just protect her children from all of the evil and hurt in the world. She couldn't, though. She was painfully aware of that. As much as she'd always tried to keep her children away from harm and violence and neglect and loss, she knew that she couldn't keep them safe from everything. She knew that there were some things that just _couldn't_ be avoided, and some things that just couldn't be predicted, either. She couldn't shield her children from all of the pain in the world. She knew, realistically, that that didn't say anything about her as a mother, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what had happened -for not stopping it, despite the fact that there was nothing she could have done to stop it.

Twenty-three minutes had passed -a longer time than the mothers had agreed on, though they both knew that more time had passed- and Lena finally lifted her head up off of her wife's shoulder, letting out a downcast sigh.

"I can take the kids home," she offered, yawning unintentionally as she began to stand up.

"No, no," Stef replied, placing a hand on Lena's arm as she shook her head. "You brought them back home earlier, I can go. You stay here."

Lena smiled at her wife, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. There was love in her eyes, though. Gratitude, too. "Stef, honey, I'll go," she insisted, standing up and looking into her wife's eyes. "You're the one who found her, after-" she paused, like she didn't want to say it, "once everything with Nick was over with," she finished instead. "You should be here when she wakes up. It might be easier for her that way," she continued as she stood up." I have to call the administration in the morning anyway." She paused, just looking into Stef's eyes while a few seconds of silence passed. "You should be here," she nodded, her voice barely above a whisper.

Stef let out quiet but heavy breath, shaking her head lightly as she looked at her wife. "Sometimes I wonder how I got lucky enough to marry a woman like you," she muttered quietly, standing up and giving her wife a tight hug.

When the mothers pulled apart, all four of the kids were looking at them, knowing what was coming next.

"We're leaving?" Jesus asked, glancing to Callie with an unsure look on his face and then back to Lena.

Jude just looked back to his sister and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, a somber look in his eyes. He didn't want to leave Callie. It didn't feel right to do so. If he'd been the one on the hospital bed, Callie would have refused to leave, no doubt about it.

Brandon looked almost angry for a few seconds as he furrowed his brow. Why the hell were they leaving? Callie was lying on a fucking hospital bed, after having been beaten by some psychopath with a gun who had threatened a whole school full of students -and more importantly, members of his family- and his mothers expected them to go home? They expected them to leave Callie, just like that?

Lena let out a sympathetic sigh, glancing between the kids. "We're not going to be of any help to Callie if we don't get any sleep," she tried to explain. "We can come back in the-"

"Well then we'll just sleep here," Brandon interrupted, looking at her incredulously. "We can't just _leave,_ not after what she's been through, that's-"

"Brandon," Stef cut him off, raising her eyebrows and giving him a look that meant there would be no room for discussion in this. "I know you are worried about your sister," she took her eyes off of Brandon, then, and glanced to the rest of the kids, "I know you are _all_ worried about your sister, but it's better for your sake and for hers that you kids get some proper rest. Callie will still be here in the morning, and I am sure she will understand if you're not here right when she wakes up. In fact, she'll probably appreciate that you guys are taking care of yourselves as well, alright?"

Jesus frowned at the ground, clearly unhappy that they had to leave, but at the same time understanding what Stef was saying. He just nodded, standing up with Mariana, who wore the same look on her face. More than anything, she just looked tired now. Worn out. Ready to get home and get some rest. Brandon just bit his lip, averting his eyes to the wall for a moment before finally nodding silently. He knew that Stef was right, and as much as he wanted to fight her on this, he also knew that it'd never actually go anywhere. Stef was resolute in what she'd said. The kids would go home, they'd be back in the morning, and that was that. No arguments. No discussion. He followed Jesus and Mariana out of the room, his hands buried in his pockets and his eyes turned to the floor.

"Jude?" Lena asked gently, realizing that he was the only one who hadn't responded and who hadn't gotten up.

He just glanced up to her, still holding Callie's hand in his own.

"She wouldn't leave," he said, his voice serious.

Lena furrowed her brow, tilting her head slightly, not quite sure what he meant. "What, Jude?" she asked tenderly, taking a step toward where he was. Stef, too, was confused, and she looked at him curiously.

"If it was me," he explained, nodding to the hospital bed that she was lying on, "she wouldn't leave."

Stef's mouth fell open slightly, finally understanding what he was getting at, and she looked at him sympathetically. She glanced to Lena, who glanced to her.

"I got this," Lena whispered, nodding her head back to the door.

Stef nodded. Lena could handle it. She could talk to Jude. Stef still had to go explain to the kids what was probably going to happen, with the reporters, with the cops, with _everything._ Sure, the minor details could wait until tomorrow or the next day, but there was still stuff that they needed to know.

Stef turned, offering Jude a small look of understanding before walking out the door into the hallway. Lena took a few steps toward Jude and crouched down in front of where he was sitting so that she was just below eye level.

"You know, Jude, I really think Callie would want you to get some rest," she spoke softly, her eyes fixed on his.

He looked confused. Frustrated. Angry, even, like there was a lot that he wasn't talking about but that he was still thinking about. It broke her heart to see him hurting. It hurt to see any of her kids hurting in any way, but the look in Jude's eyes was so powerful that she didn't know quite what to say. There was a lot going on in that little head of his that she didn't know about in that moment, and she wanted to talk to him about it -to help him through what he was going through- but she knew that now wasn't the time to dive into it.

Jude let out a frustrated puff, glancing back to his sister. "I don't want to leave," he insisted, his voice strong.

He _really_ wanted to stay with Callie. Lena could understand that. The brother and sister had a strong bond, Lena had known that from the very start, but sometimes it could come at a cost. They cared so much about each other that they'd put themselves at unnecessary risk just to protect the other.

"I know, bud," Lena frowned lightly, gently grabbing Jude's free hand. "I don't wanna go either." She looked at Callie, then. Up close, the injuries hurt even more to see. "But it's been a long day, for all of us, and if you stay here -if you don't get some proper rest- then you're just gonna be exhausted when Callie does wake up."

Jude bit his lip, his eyes on his sister. "She always protected me," he spoke, his voice a little cold. "She was always there, _no matter what_." There was more meaning to that sentence than Lena could understand -she knew that in that moment, when she'd heard the slight hint of anger or frustration in his voice- but she wouldn't ask about it right away. She didn't want to push him too hard, not after the day they'd all had. "I should be here for her."

"And you _are_ here for her," Lena whispered, catching his attention. He looked into her eyes, then, his own filled with unshed tears and pent up discontent. "And if you go home, you're _still_ here for her. She knows that. Going home -to take care of _yourself_ \- doesn't mean that you're not here for her. It just means that you're here for yourself as well. And that's important, Jude. You gotta take care of yourself sometimes. _Even_ in times like these."

Jude looked to the ground, swallowing hard. He just nodded, his jaw clenched, and Lena offered him a small smile. "Come here, bud," she spoke softly, opening her arms. Jude reciprocated the embrace, subconsciously letting out a quiet sigh of relief. It was okay for him to take care of himself, too.

Meanwhile, Stef was explaining the fact that the police would be wanting to get the kids' statements the next morning. She hated the fact that the kids even had to give statements for situations like these, but the fact that all five of her children had been integral witnesses to what had happened was a weight on her shoulders and mind. It wasn't fair for anyone.

"Can't you just take our statements?" Mariana asked, speaking for what was, in actuality, the first time in hours. She looked confused, and a little uncomfortable too, like she didn't really want to talk about it with anyone whom she didn't know.

Stef let out a despondent sigh, looking at her daughter apologetically, despite the fact that none of it was her fault. "No, sweets," she replied, shaking her head lightly. "Since you kids are family, I'm not allowed to take your statements. Mama can be with you, though, when you talk to the police. And I can make sure that whoever takes your statements is someone you've met." She paused for half a beat. "Someone I trust."

Mariana just looked to the floor and nodded, still looking somewhat confused. It was a stupid rule, that Stef couldn't take their statements. She shook it off, though. The person who she'd have to give her statement to really wasn't that much of a concern anyway.

Brandon just nodded. He could understand why Stef couldn't just take their statements. Both of his parents were active police officers. He understood the protocol, and why it wasn't legally allowed for a parent to take their child's statements.

"Now," Stef continued, "there's one other thing that I'd like to talk with you about." She offered the kids a sad, sympathetic look. She knew that things were already hard enough for the kids at the moment, and she hated that what she was about to say would probably only make things more difficult. "There are reporters," she started, trying to keep her tone somewhat hopeful, so that maybe the kids wouldn't be as worried or upset as she'd expected them to be, "and they're asking questions. About what happened, about _why_ it happened, about who was involved." Mariana looked up, then, a fire burning in her eyes for a few seconds as she thought about Nick, and also about the fact that she was, in reality, at least a part of why it had happened. "For now, there's a patrol outside the house, making sure no reporters show up or anything, but I don't want you kids watching TV, or on your phones too much, or on your computers. You can use your phones, as long as you're just texting or calling your friends, or me and Mama, but I don't want you on any of that social media stuff or on the news, alright? You don't need to see all of that stuff."

She couldn't outright say it, but she also didn't want her kids online because of everything that had already been being said about Callie. If the rest of the family were to find out about what had happened between Brandon and Callie at Idylwild, then all hell would break loose. The last thing the family needed was something else to create tension, or hurt, or just any general discomfort within the household. Stef and Lena would talk about Brandon and Callie when the time was appropriate, and then they'd talk with the kids about it once things began to settled down, and once Callie was recovering well. Until then, they could leave that on hold. For now. They sure as hell wouldn't just let it disappear.

Stef glanced at her eldest son, who bit his lip and looked her in the eyes, a sense of knowing in his own. He knew that she was thinking about the allegations against Callie as well. He'd known that reporters had begun calling Callie, and that they'd even showed up at the school. The others didn't know about it. _Yet._ Stef didn't just want them off of their electronics because of the things that would be said about the shooting at Anchor Beach. She also didn't want them on their phones and computers because she didn't want them to find out that Callie and Brandon had had sex.

Just then, Lena came walking into the hallway, Jude at her side. Stef offered her youngest a small smile, placing a hand on his shoulder before looking back at the other kids. "I'm staying here," she told them, glancing back into Callie's room for a quick second, "just in case Callie wakes up. If anything happens, I will call you and let you know, but I want you all to just go home and try to rest. You can sleep in tomorrow morning, too, and Mama will bring you back here to the hospital once you're all ready to go. Alright?"

The kids all nodded in unison, Jude and Jesus both muttering an "all right" before Stef gave them all tight hugs. She looked at Lena, then, and exhaled softly.

"Text me when you get home," she breathed, her eyes exhausted. "I'll call you if she wakes up, and if you need anything, please just call me, alright love?"

Lena just nodded, offering her wife a weak smile before wrapping her arms around her for what had to be the hundredth time that day. She held her tightly, allowing the hug to last a few extra seconds, then pulled back and gave her wife a soft kiss on the lips.

"Love you," Lena whispered, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

"I love you too," Stef replied honestly, giving her wife's arm a soft squeeze, "drive safe, okay?"

Lena just gave her a light nod before pulling away. Once she and the kids were out of sight, Stef turned and walked back into Callie's room, letting out an empty sigh as she walked over to the chair where Jude had been sitting, right next to the girl. She sat down in it, gently taking Callie's hand in her own and running her thumb along the top of her daughter's hand.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, love," she breathed into the silence of the hospital room. "I'm so, so sorry."

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Okay, so yeah, that's that chapter. It took me from one in the morning until 3:45 to finish, but it's better than nothing, so yep. Also, I promise that I'll definitely show some stuff from Brandon's perspective, and later from AJ's and the twins' as well. I'd originally planned on this story not being too long, but I'm at a point now where it'll probably be a lot longer than I'd previously thought. It's a hurt/comfort story, so I obviously want to focus on the healing of not just Callie but of the entire family. And trust me, you're going to see a lot on the Callie-and-Brandon-at-Idylwild thing too later on. Things are going to start moving along in the next chapter as well. I want to get it up tomorrow or the next day, but I can't promise anything. Life's a little bit hectic at the moment, so it might be hard for me to get much writing in this week.

Anyways, please feel free to leave a review. Comments, suggestions, and critiques are always welcomed. I hope you all have a wonderful day/night


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone. I know it's been a little longer than I'd intended. Life kinda just got in the way, I'm sure you understand. It's nothing you guys need to be concerned about, though. It's just life. Anyways, this next chapter (unfortunately) isn't too long but I mean it's better than nothing (I hope). So yeah, here's chapter 18:**

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The first thing that she was aware of was how cold the room was. Before she could feel anything else, she felt the goosebumps surface on her skin. God, it was cold. Then came the raw ache at the pit of her stomach, and the initially mild throbbing headache. She curled her lip, grimacing tiredly at the pain and turning her head to the side. She shut her eyelids even tighter and squeezed her hands in an attempt to will away some of the pain. The pounding in her head just grew more severe, though, and she let out a pained groan, still not opening her eyes yet. She clenched her jaw as she felt a sudden sharp pang in her abdomen and she let out a small whimper, growing worried. This wasn't normal. This wasn't right. Something was wrong.

Her eyes flew open and she turned her head to the left, looking around worriedly, and then to the right. She heard her name, but she was too confused and freaked out to really pay attention to it. Where the hell was she? What was going on? Why did everything hurt so much? She started to make an attempt at sitting up, but as soon as she felt the shooting pain in her abdomen, her eyes widened and she sucked in a sharp, fearful, pained breath, falling back down onto the bed. Her stomach was burning, and the tears welled up in her eyes before she could even notice them. She felt like her lungs were shrinking, like she just couldn't get enough air into them, and her eyes darted around the room. She could see Stef, but the fact that it was _actually_ Stef didn't click right away. All that she was aware of was the pain, and the shortness of breath, and the fact that she had no clue where she was or why everything hurt so much.

Stef tried to get her attention. She called out her name, and she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, gently but firmly so that the girl wouldn't be able to try to sit up again. That would tear the stitches, and it would just hurt her worse, and it could wind up putting her into more danger. The look on Callie's face -the look of pure pain and fear- when she'd tried to sit up was like a massive punch in the gut to Stef. A look of anguish had flared up in the girl's eyes and Stef felt her heart shatter right then and there.

"Callie, you're okay, you're in the hospital," Stef tried hopelessly. The panic in Callie's eyes didn't even shift, though. It was like she hadn't even seen Stef. Like she was somewhere else. "Callie," she tried again. No response. "Callie -Callie, look at me," she spoke more firmly, giving the girl's hand a tight squeeze.

She rested the hand that had been on the girl's shoulder onto the side of Callie's face, gently, and the girl jerked her head to the right, her attention instantly on Stef. The recognition in Callie's eyes came as a momentary relief to Stef, as the panic seemed to fall away a little bit.

"Callie, love, you're okay," Stef assured her, her voice quieter now as she had her daughter's attention. "You're alright, you're safe now."

That was when the realization clicked in. The panic shifted slightly ti reveal a raw type of sadness that Stef had never seen before in the girl's eyes. It was almost hopeless, or broken. It was, in a sense, an urgent kind of sadness, like if she were to blink, Stef would be gone when she opened her eyes again.

Everything just came flooding back to Callie. The discussion in Lena's office. The echoing _bang_ of a gunshot as she'd been walking through the hallway. The girl who'd been shot. The blood that had stained Callie's hands after she'd tried to help the girl. The intense fear that she'd felt when she'd thought that Nick might hurt her brother, and when she'd thought that he'd end up killing Mariana. Then she remembered being hit. And having the damn fucking gun pressed against her back, and her head. And then the pain. The fear. The panic. The confusion. The pain. She remembered being hit, and kicked, and assaulted by that son of a bitch. She remembered the feeling of the butt of the gun scraping at her flesh. And the feeling of knuckle colliding with jaw, and knee colliding with stomach. Then she remembered the searing pain in her stomach, and how hard it had been to even walk. And then she remembered the cold, lifeless feeling of the barrel of the gun as it had been pushed so forcefully against the underside of her chin. She remembered the feeling of impending death. And of a hopelessness that she'd never felt before.

She remembered everything. It all just came flooding back to her.

She didn't even speak. She didn't even make a sound, she just stared right into Stef's eyes, realizing that everything that had happened had _really_ happened. Remembering the pain, physical and mental. She squeezed Stef's hand, probably more tightly than Stef would have liked, and she just held her gaze as Stef moved a stray piece of hair away from her daughter's face. God. Everything had happened. It was like something out of a nightmare -something out of a movie, or a book- but it was all _real._ It was all too real.

And she didn't know what to do.

Everything was screwed up, and Callie didn't know what to do, or what to say, or what to feel. She was hurting, and as much as she knew that she was safe, she was scared to death. For the most part, she was scared because she knew what was awaiting her. She knew that this wasn't just something that was going to go away. This was bad. It wasn't like Liam, but it was still a different kind of bad. She didn't know how she was going to get through it -physically and mentally- and that scared the living shit out of her.

Stef could see the panic that still lingered in Callie's eyes. She could see the hurt. She could see the fear. She felt a knot forming in her throat and it took every bit of strength not to let the tears spill over. Seeing her daughter in so much pain just tore her apart and she wished that she could just take it all away. She couldn't, though. She could only try to make it a little more bearable.

"Just breathe, love," Stef whispered sadly as Callie's breathing began to grow even more unsteady. "Okay? Breathe."

She muttered a few reassurances, trying to calm Callie down, but the girl's breathing was shaky, and her eyes were filling with tears, and Stef could see how hard the teen was fighting to try to stay strong. It broke her heart that Callie still felt like she had to be strong. She'd been through hell and back so many times, and here she was, still trying to take it all one without blinking. It wasn't right.

Callie shut her eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to cry. God, it wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She was in pain, and she was scared, and everything was so fucked up, and she just didn't know how to handle it. She didn't know how to handle all of the hurt anymore. She didn't know _anything_ anymore.

A few minutes passed. Callie didn't make a sound, but the tears seeped through her shut eyes and fell down her cheeks. Stef held the girl's hand tightly, occasionally wiping away a few of Callie's stray tears gently with her other hand. She uttered a few more quiet reassurances, and after a while, Callie's breathing was more even, or at least as even as it could be in that moment. The teen was hurting -that much was obvious. She was still medicated, which meant that the pain was at least somewhat dulled down by whatever pain killers she'd been given through the IV, but Stef knew from experience that the morphine and the other analgesics typically didn't take the pain away entirely. The medicine just dulled it down, made the pain more bearable. Stef couldn't even imagine how much pain Callie would be in had she not been medicated.

After what must've been fifteen minutes or more, Callie finally opened her eyes back up and turned her head to Stef, who looked her sympathetically in the eyes. The girl didn't look as scared anymore, but Stef knew that that didn't mean she wasn't still scared. She just looked tired. Worn out. That made sense -considering how much pain she was probably in and everything that had happened, it would've been more concerning if Callie _wasn't_ worn out. The light in her eyes that Stef loved so much was almost entirely absent, too, which stung to see.

Callie's throat was sore, which she didn't entirely understand. Sure, it made sense for her stomach to hurt -she remembered what the paramedics had said in the ambulance, and she vaguely remembered being wheeled off to the ER. She knew that she'd been in surgery, so that explained why her stomach hurt. She knew why her chest hurt, and she knew that the bruises were probably already growing darker from the beating she'd endured. She knew why her face hurt - _god_ her face hurt. Her jaw, her eyes, her cheeks, her forehead, basically everything. _Everything_ hurt. She didn't know why her throat hurt, though.

"Water?" She croaked out, her voice hoarse and pretty scratchy. She looked at Stef hopefully, praying that she'd be able to get her something to drink. Her throat hurt like hell, and all that she wanted was something that would be able to help the pain somewhat.

Stef bit the corner of her lip, offering her daughter a small, sympathetic smile. She herself felt ready enough to cry. Seeing her daughter in pain was by far one of the worst things that had ever happened to her. She just wanted to help her as much as possible. She reached down, pulling a bottle of water out of her purse. The small table at the side of Callie's bed had a few small paper cups sitting in a stack, likely so that the patients always had the cups available to them if need be. She poured some of the water into the cup, glancing lightly back at Callie as she did so. The girl's eyes were on the water and it was clear that she was pretty desperate for it. Her throat was probably killing her.

"Here," Stef spoke gently, holding out the small cup of water. Callie started to reach for it, just barely sitting up, and winced. "You got it?" Stef asked, concerned. She didn't want her daughter to wind up hurting herself worse.

Callie just nodded, gritting her teeth in an attempt to block out the pain as she took a hold of the cup. She started to lift herself up more so that she could sip from the cup, and as she grimaced, Stef placed a hand at her back, making it a little bit easier for her to stay upright without hurting too much. She closed her eyes as she took a sip from the water, relief flooding over her as the water ran down her throat, making it feel a little less dry and a little less scratchy. Even after her seven years of being thrown around in the system, she'd never been more grateful for a glass of water.

She swallowed, her throat still sore but not as severely as it had been. She took a few more sips, then let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes. She started to reach out to set it on the bed side table, but then Stef took it from her hands as she helped to ease her back into a more comfortable, safe position on the hospital bed.

"Thank you," Callie muttered tiredly, lying her head back on the pillow as she glanced over at her mother.

Stef just gave her a warm, sad smile, gently resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "No problem at all, Cal." She let out a quiet sigh, frowning slightly. "How are you feeling?"

Callie frowned deeply, glancing downward. "Not great," she grumbled, swallowing the knot in her throat. "My stomach hurts." She paused, then said the last part quieter. " _Everything_ hurts."

Stef let out a sad sigh, grabbing her daughter's hand with both of her own. "I know," she whispered with tight lips. "I'm sorry, love. I'm _so_ sorry."

Callie shook her head, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "Don't be," she breathed. She opened her eyes, looking right at her mom. "I'm just glad you're here."

And it was true. She was in pain, and she was scared, and she was tired, and she was hurting, and everything was a mess, but Stef was there. Her mom was there, and that was enough. In that moment, all that Callie _really_ needed was her mother. She didn't think she could handle any more than that at the moment anyway. Sure, she loved all of her siblings, but it was easier, at least in the moment, to just have her mom there. Sure, she wouldn't have _minded_ seeing Jude, or Brandon, or the twins, but it was just easier having just her mom there when she woke up. She knew that she'd see Lena later, and that she'd see her brothers and sister later. For now, though, having only one person there was what she needed, and she was glad that that one person could be Stef.

Stef let out a silent, shaky breath, squeezing her daughter's hand tightly. "I'm not going anywhere, Callie," Stef told her with tears in her eyes. "I promise."

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 **Hey so I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter (I know I say that about literally every chapter but I feel like this one is just kinda eh), and again, I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I'm gonna try to keep updates pretty frequent still, but I don't know if they'll be as frequent as they were for a while. Who knows though. Maybe they will be. Just know that I'm not gonna give up on this story. I'm pretty committed to it. Anyways, thank you for all of the reviews that you have left, and yeah. Feel free to leave a review/comment/suggestion/etc.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay guys so I know it's been forever and I'm very sorry but personal stuff has gotten in the way and I've just had a _lot_ of trouble getting this chapter down. It just doesn't seem very good in my opinion, like it's missing something or like it's just boring or something. I don't even know. I've revised it a lot and everything but it's been forever so I'm just giving you this. Hopefully it's not as horrible as I think it is.**

 **Here ya go:**

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"Are you sure you're okay to do this now?" Stef asked, giving Callie an unsure look. The girl was obviously exhausted. She was clearly in pain. It just didn't seem right for her to have to give her statement on top of all of that right now.

The teen seemed pretty certain, though. Maybe she just wanted to get it all over with. Maybe she was just getting it out of the way. Sure, Stef didn't see it to be in the girl's best interest that she give her statement immediately, but Callie had insisted. When Stef had mentioned that Mike would take the girl's statement, she'd been adamant in telling Stef that she'd much rather get it over with now. Sure, she'd be able to get it done in the morning which would probably allow Callie some time to rest and feel better, but Callie, being the stubborn, strong kid she was, had insisted on getting her statement taken as soon as possible.

Callie nodded, her eyes unwavering. She was propped up now, a few pillows behind her so that she wasn't just lying on her back. "I just wanna get it over with," she sighed tiredly.

Stef nodded, accepting what Callie wanted. She didn't exactly think it was the best idea for the beat down, exhausted kid to have to worry about giving her statement -basically revisiting what had happened at the school- so soon, but if it was what Callie _really_ wanted in that moment, then she'd at least give that to her. Callie deserved to be in control of _something_ after what had happened, and if she wanted to give her statement, then Stef would support her decision, and she'd be there for the girl. She knew that for victims of the kind of violence that Callie had been subject to, giving a statement -repeating every detail of what had happened to a police officer- typically wasn't a very easy thing to do.

"Okay," Stef nodded, offering Callie a small smile and giving the girl's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Then we'll get it over with."

Stef glanced to the entrance of the room, where Mike was standing in the doorway, trying not to eavesdrop but waiting for Stef to let him know that he could come in. She gave him a small nod, then he stepped into the room, offering Callie a small smile and trying to hide most of the pity in his expression. He didn't know Callie near as well as Lena or Stef, or the kids, but he knew that she probably wouldn't want every single person who looked at her to look at her with pity. He knew that Callie was a lot like Stef, and he knew for a fact that if Stef hated anything, it was pity.

"Hey, Callie," Mike said as he entered the room. He sat down on the chair next to Stef so that he was close enough to Callie that she would feel comfortable with talking to him, but not too close that she'd feel uncomfortable.

"Hi," she replied with a nod, too tired to actually bother faking a smile.

Even though it probably wasn't too obvious, she was beyond grateful that Mike was the person taking her statement. Stef had explained that she couldn't take Callie's statement, which the girl understood, but it was a relief to Callie that the cop taking her statement was actually going to be someone she knew and could trust. She and Mike weren't close, but he was Brandon's dad, and he was AJ's foster father, and given his close connection to the Adams-Fosters and how much he'd done for AJ, she could trust him.

"Alright, uh, Stef explained how this works to you, right?" Mike asked, trying to keep his tone at least somewhat upbeat.

It wasn't exactly easy, though. Callie had clearly been through hell in that school, and even though he and the girl weren't close, it broke his heart to see how hurt she clearly was. He'd helped to get her out of the school and into the ambulance earlier, and she'd looked bad enough then, but now that the injuries were much more visibly apparent, it reminded him of how badly she really must have been hurt. The bruising on her face was getting darker, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was in pain. Practically half of her face was swollen, which he knew couldn't be pleasant. By the looks of it, she was lucky to be alive. Hell, she _was_ lucky to be alive, especially after having her spleen ruptured.

Callie just nodded. "I've been through it before anyways," she sighed, shifting slightly in the hospital bed and wincing slightly as moving around hurt her stomach.

For a moment, Mike was a little bit confused as to how Callie had been through it before, but then it clicked. Callie had been in the foster system for seven years. It wasn't a secret that she'd faced abuse, whether it included previous foster parents, or Liam, or that Pearson son-of-a-bitch who had finally gotten his ass thrown into jail. She'd been a victim of violence before. Of course she knew how giving a statement worked.

Mike offered her a small, lightly apologetic smile, nodding as he looked down at the small book that he had in his hand. "Alright," he said with a light sigh, "let's start from the beginning, right? Do you remember where you were, or what you were doing when you heard the first gunshot?"

Callie bit her bottom lip, momentarily ignoring the pain that it caused considering the fact that her lip was somewhat swollen. Yeah, she remembered where she'd been. She remembered what she'd been doing. She'd been on her way to talk to Brandon. To talk to him about the fact that she'd told their mothers about what had happened at Idyllwild. She'd been walking down the school hallways, feeling like shit, with her mothers pissed at her, to talk to Brandon about the fact that they'd slept together and that pretty much the whole world was bound to know eventually, considering the reporters. Yeah. She remembered.

She glanced at Stef, whose eyes had turned to the floor for a few seconds. By the way she, too, was biting her lip, it was pretty obvious to Callie that she was thinking about the conversation that they'd had before the first shot went off.

Jesus, Callie hadn't even thought about _that_ part of the day since she'd woken up. And now that it was all she could think about, she felt a little sick. She didn't know what was going to happen now that the moms knew about what had happened between her and Brandon, and thinking about it made her nauseous. God, what was going to happen?

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking in a breath to try to ease her nerves. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Now was the time to give her statement and get it all over with. Now was the time for her to tell Mike, and indirectly Stef, what had happened in the school. Not what had happened at Idyllwild. What had happened at school. That was what she was supposed to be doing. She could worry about the Idyllwild situation at another time. As sick as she felt, she knew that she had take it all one thing at a time, at least until she was feeling better.

"Callie?" Stef asked, causing Callie's eyes to open.

She expected Stef to look disappointed, or frustrated, because she knew that the mother had been thinking about the conversation about Idyllwild that they'd had. Instead, though, all that Callie saw was the concern in Stef's eyes, likely because of Callie's short silence.

"Sorry," Callie muttered, shaking her head lightly to try to get herself together. "Uh, I was in the hallway," she replied honestly. "I was walking, and then that's when I heard the gunshot."

Mike nodded, jotting something down on the small book that he held. "And then?"

"Um, I knew where Jude's classroom was, so I guess I kind of just started running there." Callie responded, her eyes on the notepad that Mike was writing in. "I didn't want him to get hurt," she clarified.

She couldn't see what he was writing, as it was facing the opposite direction, but she kept her eyes focussed on it. It wasn't that she didn't trust Mike. It wasn't that she was nervous about whatever he'd write down. She didn't even know for sure _why_ she was so intent on watching when he'd write. Maybe it was because she knew that every time he wrote something, it meant that what she'd said was important, and that it needed to be in the report.

Stef held back a small, sad frown. Callie's immediate instinct when she'd heard the gunshot was to protect Jude. The girl was fiercely protective of the people whom she cared about, that much Stef knew, but this just served as a reminder of what Callie was willing to do -what she was willing to take- to protect the people she loved, and as great as it was that Callie cared, it weighed down on Stef's chest. Callie cared dangerously about the people she loved, and that ultimately could have gotten the girl killed.

Callie continued, telling Mike about how she'd heard Nick nearby, and how someone had tried talking him down, and how that had ended up with Nick firing his gun a second time and with Callie hiding in the supplies closet. Stef clenched her jaw, wishing that none of it had been real. This was already enough for Callie to have to go through, and she knew that this was nothing compared to what had happened to her later.

"He, uh, he shot a girl. Angela something. I think she was a freshman," Callie started to explain. Stef furrowed her brow, not quite sure how Callie had known all of this if she'd been hiding in the closet. Then the teen explained. "After he was gone, I went back to the room he'd been in, to see if anyone was hurt." Callie paused, glancing at the ground and looking somewhat troubled. "She was shot in the shoulder," Callie continued, swallowing the knot in her throat. Her voice was beginning to get shaky, and Stef gave the girl's hand a gentle squeeze.

Callie let out a shaky breath, squeezing Stef's hand back as she remembered seeing the young girl lying on the ground in the school with her own blood beginning to pool around her. Callie hadn't even thought about that until now, either, and now that she was starting to remember it, she started to remember just how fucked up it all was. The girl couldn't have been any older than a freshman, and she'd been shot and essentially left for dead in the classroom. It was so screwed up.

"She, um, she was bleeding," Callie continued, taking in a trembling breath. "She was bleeding a lot, and all of the kids in that room were young-" She looked toward Stef, a look of what could only be confusion in her eyes. "They couldn't have been much older than Jude," she spoke, like she couldn't understand the situation even though she'd been there. "They were just kids, _freshmen._ _"_ She was getting off track. She was starting to panic. Stef could tell, and Mike could too. "God, that could have been _Jude,_ _"_ Callie continued, her eyes filling with confusion and worry, "and I-"

Stef placed a hand on Callie's shoulder, looking directly into the girl's eyes and getting her to snap back to reality at least a little bit.

"Callie?" she tried.

Callie just looked at her, looking almost ready to cry just thinking about how it could have been Jude lying on that floor.

"It _wasn't_ Jude," Stef spoke, her voice firm but caring. "It wasn't Jude, Callie. Jude is fine. He's okay. That girl, the one Nick hurt, _wasn't_ Jude."

Miraculously, that seemed to calm down the teen even more than Stef had expected it to. Callie nodded, not shifting her gaze away from Stef at all. Her mom was right. It wasn't Jude. Jude hadn't been hurt. He was fine. He hadn't been shot, he hadn't been hit, he hadn't been harmed. Jude was fine. He was okay. Yeah, it was beyond screwed up that those kids -as young as they had been- had seen all of what had happened, and it was beyond screwed up that someone as young as Angela had been shot in a place where she should've felt safe, and Callie couldn't even begin to understand why it had all happened, but it hadn't been Jude in that room. It hadn't been Jude who had been hurt, or who had been forced to see a classmate get shot. Jude was okay, and she was beyond grateful for that.

Callie took a deep breath, closing her eyes. After a minute or so, she started talking again. She explained that she'd helped Angela, and that she'd wrapped up the girl's shoulder. Stef bit her lip the whole time that Callie spoke. The girl, at seventeen years old, had tended to a gun shot wound, let alone a _child's_ gun shot wound. It wasn't right. It wasn't something that Callie should have had to go through, especially after everything that she'd already been through in her life.

Then she talked about how she'd left the room, then, to get to Jude. That she'd basically ran through the hallway while there was an active shooter in the building, something that made Stef sick to her stomach, but that she'd still managed to get to his classroom. She talked about how they'd just sat in there for a while, and then about how they'd called Brandon and spoken with Lena.

As soon as she started talking about them talking with Lena, though, Callie's demeanor seemed to change. While she'd been giving her statement, for the most part, everything had been pretty matter-of-fact, with the exception of the situation with Angela. She hadn't sounded too upset. Sure, she'd sounded pretty somber talking about it all, but she hadn't seemed too troubled. Now, though, Stef could notice that she seemed a little more upset. The girl's grip on her hand tightened somewhat, which really gained Stef's attention, and Callie's expression seemed much more bothered, which worried Stef. She didn't know what Callie was going to say next, but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to be something good.

"We, um, we were on the phone with her, and, uh, that's when he started trying to get into the room," Callie said, her voice somewhat shaky as her breaths started to grow heavy.

Stef and Mike exchanged glances, both noticing how Callie seemed to be growing more anxious, or at least more unsettled at recalling everything that had happened, and also realizing that Callie was now telling them about how Nick had even gotten to her in the first place.

Stef gently placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, to which Callie unexpectedly flinched at, jumping up slightly and jerking her head so that she was looking at Stef. For a split second, the fear in the girl's eyes showed no recognition of where she was or who was with her. Callie's reaction to Stef's touch was like a punch in the gut to the mother, and as much as she knew that Callie wasn't _actually_ afraid of her and that Callie trusted her, it still hurt to see that her daughter had been hurt enough that she'd even momentarily been frightened by her mother's touch.

Stef didn't pull her hand back, though. She would have done so, had the sudden fear in Callie's eyes not instantly disappeared, but she kept her hand on Callie's shoulder when she was sure that it wasn't actually her whom the girl was frightened of.

"I'm sorry," Stef apologized gently, looking into her daughter's deep, emotion-flooded eyes. Callie just shook her head, as Stef didn't really have anything to apologize for.

"You're safe, okay, Callie?" Stef tried after a few seconds. She didn't know exactly what to say, because for one thing, she didn't even know what exactly had happened in that school, and she didn't know the exact reason why Callie was acting the way she was. She could at least try to remind the girl that she was safe there with her, though. She could at least do that. "No one can hurt you anymore, love," she spoke softly. "You're safe."

Callie just met her mother's eyes once more, nodding as she took in a deep breath. She was safe. She wasn't back in that classroom, while Nick was breaking in. She was in the hospital, with two cops -one of them her mother. She wasn't going to wind up back in that copying room with Nick. She was safe. She was _safe._

"Are you sure you want to do this right now, Cal?" Stef asked after a few minutes when the girl seemed ready to continue. The truth was, Stef was worried. She was worried that Callie was going to push herself too hard and that she'd wind up hurting even more than she already was because of it. "You don't want to take a break, or finish this in the morning?"

Callie just shook her head, taking in a long breath. "No," she replied firmly. "No I'm fine, let's just do this now."

Mike and Stef glanced at each other once more, the latter of the two obviously worried, but they just nodded. If Callie _really_ wanted to finish it now, then they'd have to at least give her that.

"He got into the room," Callie started, picking up right where she left off. "I guess he broke the doorknob with his gun or something. He, uh, he told me he needed me for something, and then he said he'd shoot me if I tried to run or whatever." She paused, biting her bottom lip, then continued a few seconds later. "Jude got upset, and Nick threatened him too, and when I tried to get Nick to calm down he pushed against the wall. Then he hit me in the head with the handle of his gun, I think. I mean it all happened pretty quickly." She shrugged lightly, letting out a quiet sigh.

Stef was biting her lip hard to stop it from quivering at all. She hated that this had happened to Callie, and as bad as it already was, she knew that there was more to come. She knew that Callie hadn't been this badly bruise and hadn't suffered from a ruptured spleen just by being thrown against a wall and hit with the gun.

Callie continued, telling the two officers about how he'd taped her wrists, and how he'd demanded that she take him to Mariana. She talked about how he'd threatened to kill her, and that, had someone not slammed a door shut at the very moment that they had, she'd have been killed. Stef hated the thought that Callie had had a gun to her head. She hated the fact that the girl had been so close to death, clearly multiple times that day. She hated the fact that her daughter had been through so much. It wasn't fair. It wasn't okay.

"That's when he took me into the copying room," Callie said after a few seconds of silence.

Her voice was flat, almost entirely void of emotion, and she just stared straight ahead. It didn't take a genius to know that whatever had happened in that room was worse than everything she'd already talked about. Stef and Mike glanced at each other, each of them well aware of, and a little set off by, the change in Callie's demeanor.

"The copying room?" Mike asked, glancing at his notepad and then back at Callie.

"Yeah," she nodded, "uh, he got freaked out I guess when he heard the door shut, so he took me into the copying room since no one was there."

Mike nodded, his expression concerned as he scribbled onto his notepad.

"He got pissed at me cause I said I wasn't gonna tell him where Mariana was," Callie continued, her eyes glazed over as she spoke, like she wasn't even there. "That's when he started hitting me. He... Um... He just wouldn't stop. I'm not sure how long it lasted. Ten minutes maybe. I'm not sure." She let out a dry, humorless chuckled, biting the corner of her lip. "Kinda hard to keep track of the time when someone's hitting you in the face with a gun."

That was when Stef's heart _really_ broke. Callie's words knocked the wind out of her and she looked at her daughter, her jaw dropped and her eyes filled with tears that were threatening to spill. She felt her stomach fall to the floor and it took everything she had in her to keep herself together. It wasn't just the fact that Callie had been beaten so badly for so long. It was that she looked and sounded so detached, now. She'd gone from nearly having a panic attack just worrying about the fact that Jude nearly could have been hurt to making a dry joke about how she'd been beating. It was like someone had switched the "off" switch on her emotions, disconnecting her from herself.

Callie looked to Stef, then, and felt a pang of guilt at seeing Stef's reaction. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. "Sorry," she mumbled apologetically, casting her eyes down to the floor.

Stef just placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder, and Callie couldn't bear to look into her mother's eyes. Stef was there to keep Callie calm and to make her feel like she wasn't alone, but it was clear to Callie that it was difficult for Stef to be hearing everything that happened.

She continued with her statement, then, filling in the gaps between the copying room and when Stef and the other officers had busted into the classroom. She explained how Nick had threatened to kill her in front of the twins. How he'd been ready to kill her execution-style. How Mariana had somehow managed to talk him down. How Jesus had basically pulled her to safety. How Nick had been about to shoot himself before the cops came running into the room. Stef held her hand through it all, and as painful as she knew it must've been for Callie to talk about everything that had happened, the girl didn't even bat an eye as she spoke now. She sounded detached. Maybe it was just easier for her that way.

When everything was over with, Mike left the room after wishing Callie her best, and Stef gave her daughter a small, sad smile.

"I know that was hard, love," she spoke softly, looking Callie in the eyes. "I can't even tell you how proud I am of you, you know that?"

Callie just nodded tiredly, letting out a quiet sigh. She was exhausted. She probably could've waited until later to give her statement, but she'd wanted to get it over with. Now she was beat, though. Her eyelids felt heavy and the injuries and pain killers and everything else probably weren't doing much to help keep her awake.

"Do you need anything?" Stef asked, wanting to help Callie in any way possible. "A water? Food? An extra pillow, or-"

Callie shook her head, cutting Stef off. "I really just wanna go back to sleep," she mumbled, exhaustion dripping from her voice.

Stef nodded in understanding and got up out of her chair, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss onto Callie's forehead. "Okay love," she replied. "I think that's a good idea, yeah?" She needed to go call Lena, just to let her know how it had gone with Callie making her statement. She knew that her wife -and no doubt Jude and the rest of the kids- were worried about Callie.

Callie reached out and grabbed Stef's hand at seeing that she was probably about to walk out of the room. She didn't want to seem clingy, or hopeless, or weak, but she _needed_ Stef there with her. In that moment, she needed her.

"Can you stay?" she asked, her eyes filled with sudden worry and sadness that even she couldn't hide. She didn't want to be left alone. Not now. "Please?"

Stef looked at Callie sympathetically, her heart falling to the floor, and nodded, sitting back down in her chair and giving Callie's hand a reaffirming squeeze. She hadn't planned on going anywhere in the first place -just out to the hallway so that she could call her wife- and she knew that Callie knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't have left, but she nodded.

"Absolutely, love,"

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 **Okay so like I said, I personally do not like this chapter and I've spent ages trying to revise it or just patch up parts here and there, but it's been ages since I've actually updated this story, so yeah. I just posted this chapter hoping that maybe you guys will hate it a little bit less than I do.**

 **Anyways, please feel free to critique/share your thoughts. I'm always appreciative of a review.**

 **And lastly, I know some of you have already seen it, but I have another Fosters story in progress going on right now. It's called "I'm in Here," and I've got everything all mapped out so I know exactly how it's gonna go, and I'd really appreciate if you guys could check that out because I'm excited about that story.**

 **Thanks everyone, and hopefully I'll update this story soon.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey, how's our girl doing?" Lena asked softly as she answered her phone. She was sitting cross legged on her bed, and she refused to actually get some sleep without hearing about how Callie was. Stef had called her after the girl had first woken up, she'd texted her before Callie had given her statement, and now she was ready to hear how their daughter was holding up.

Stef sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "She's holding up as well as can be expected," the blonde replied, sadness dripping from her voice. "The poor thing's exhausted, she just fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago. I would've called earlier, but I didn't want to leave her side until I knew she was actually asleep."

Lena smiled sadly, nodding as she held the phone against her ear. "I'm glad she has you there with her," she said softly. "I think that's what she really needs right now." Lena leaned back against the pillows at the head of the bed and let out a heavy sigh. "Was she okay giving her statement?" Lean asked, staring up at the ceiling. Unlike Stef, Lena still didn't have any sure idea of what Callie had gone through, and she had no idea what it would be like for Callie to give her statement. She could only imagine how hard it must have been for her daughter.

Stef's voice was sad on the other end of the call as she responded, and Lena felt her heart ache for their child. "It was hard for her, but she got through it. God, Lena," Stef breathed sadly, "she's been through Hell already, but hearing what she had to go through might've actually been worse than having to wonder what actually happened..."

Stef trailed off, and Lena swallowed the lump in her throat. She still didn't even know what Callie had been through, and as much as she wanted answers and as much as she wanted to know what Callie had been through so that she could help her, Lena wasn't exactly sure if she was ready to hear the details of it all unless they were coming from Callie herself.

"Stef," Lena spoke, her voice soft and somewhat hesitant, "I know I should wait for Callie to tell me on her own what happened, but Nick-" she stopped, not quite sure how to ask what she wanted to ask her wife. She didn't know how to form the words, how to ask the question that made her sick to her stomach each time she thought about it. "I know that he hurt her -badly- but he didn't, um..." She paused, took a breath, and then continued slowly. "Stef, did he-"

"No," Stef answered confidently before Lena could even get the question out. "No, love, no he didn't. I asked her that before she even gave her statement. He didn't, Lena. Don't worry."

Lena let out a huge, heavy sigh of relief and felt a huge weight on her chest slide right off. Of course she still felt horrible about what had happened to Callie, and of course her heart broke every time she thought of what her daughter -and what all of her children- had been through, but knowing that Nick Stratos hadn't taken advantage of Callie was an incredible relief to her. Callie had been through something traumatic and horrible and devastating and heart-wrenching, but she hadn't been raped. She wasn't going to have to relive the same horror that lived through when Liam had hurt her. At least Lena wouldn't have to worry that that had happened to Callie again.

"Thank God," Lena whispered, taking a breath.

A few seconds of silence settled over the line, then Stef spoke up again. "How are the rest of the kids doing?" She asked, her voice growing slightly concerned.

Lena let out a soft sigh, gnawing lightly on her bottom lip. "Well, aside from being worried about Callie, Brandon seems alright for the most part. Jude's pretty upset, which is only reasonable. He's holding up alright, though. As for the twins, Jesus has basically been glued to his phone and to Mariana's side." Lena paused, biting her cheek for a moment, then continued after a few seconds of silence. "Mariana's hardly said a word. I was going to talk with her after we got home, but as soon as we got in the door she told me she was going to bed."

"She's probably exhausted," Stef breathed out quietly. "All of them probably are."

"I know," Lena nodded, rubbing her temples. "I just can't even image what's going through our baby's head right now. You know Mariana, she's probably going to insist that she's fine. I just don't want her to think that she has to deal with all of this on her own."

"I know, love, I know," Stef replied softly. "We'll talk to her tomorrow, make sure she knows she can come to us when she needs anything. I don't doubt Jesus has been keeping a close eye on her, too. If she won't talk to us, one of us can go to him, ask him if he knows anything about what she's feeling right now."

"Yeah, yeah you're right," Lena whispered with a small nod as she closed her eyes.

She could hear Stef's light sigh on the other end of the call. "What are you feeling right now?" her wife asked, her voice tired but her question genuine.

Lena let out a quiet breath, swallowing the knot in her throat that she hadn't realized was there until her wife asked the question. "Scared," she answered after a brief moment of silence, her voice so quiet that she almost couldn't hear herself speak. "I just don't want the kids to have to go through all of this. It's not right."

"Yeah, me too," Stef breathed out sadly. "I love you, you know that?"

A small, sad smile played on Lena's face as she opened her eyes and looked up to the ceiling. "I love you too, Stef," she replied quietly. "So, so much."

There was a long, but comfortable, pause, then Stef spoke up again. "Now get some sleep, alright? I might not be there with you, but I know you haven't taken a moment to rest today at all. You need to rest."

Lena let out a soft chuckle. "So do you."

"And I will. You know I can sleep anywhere, love. Hospital chairs are not an exception. Now go to sleep. Do it for me if you won't do it for yourself."

Lena smiled softly once more. "Alright," she sighed gently. "Goodnight hun, I love you."

"I love you more," Stef replied genuinely before hanging up.

Lena let out a long, tired sigh as she set the phone down on the bedside table, then she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. There were no words to describe how incredibly grateful she was for her wife. Stef was her lifesaver in more ways than one. Sure, a large part of Lena wanted to fall asleep at her wife's side. She wanted to hold her, to hug her, to know that her wife -who had walked through the hallways of that school without hesitation despite the fact that there had been a shooter- was alive and safe, but an even greater part of her was relieved to know that Stef was at the hospital, caring for their daughter. There was nothing that Lena wanted more than to be with Callie, but she knew that she had to watch out for the wellbeing of her other children as well. She had to make sure that they were eating, and sleeping, and that they were taking care of themselves as well. Knowing that Stef was there with Callie, that she was their for their child, was the greatest relief she could have had.

* * *

 **Okay so it's been forever since I've updated, but here you go. I don't exactly know why it's taken so long, but it just has. Plus, life's been hectic and I had a brief moment where I didn't know where I wanted this story to go next. I'm pretty confident about it now, though, so I hope you all enjoy this update.**

 **Additionally, I just want to say that I do not hate Nick Stratos. Sure, the one in this storyline, I hate him. But personally I would like to defend his character in the story's actual plotline. He's a kid who has his own mental issues -which are not his fault- and he never had the intention to hurt anyone. His near suicide attempt does not make him a bad person, and I'm glad the show portrayed it that way. I have personal reasons for feeling this way, so maybe you won't all see it how I do, but I genuinely feel bad for his character and for anyone who can relate to him.**

 **Anyway, yep! Please please please review, whether it's positive or negative, because if it hadn't been for one very recent review, I don't think I would've jumped back into this story as I did. So please let me know what you think. Happy New Year!**


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